Romney is not “advocating” for military action, believes it should be an option.

Former Massachusetts governor outlined an aggressive world view in his public statements in Jerusalem  on Sunday, as it is little shade between his policy approach to Iran and the policies President Obama has pursued in office, although Romney used  rhetoric to describe the Iranian threat.“It is sometimes said that those who are the most committed to stopping the Iranian regime from securing nuclear weapons are reckless and provocative and inviting war. The opposite is true. We are the true peacemakers,” he said.

“Make no mistake, the ayatollahs in Iran are testing our moral defenses,” Romney said. “They want to know who will object and who will look the other way. We will not look away nor will our country ever look away from our passion and commitment to Israel.”

Romney added, “We have a solemn duty and a moral imperative to deny Iran’s leaders the means to follow through on their malevolent intentions.”

The security of Israel, he said, “is in the vital national security interest of the United States.”

Romney’s speech occurred hours after one of his senior foreign policy advisers, Dan Senor, told reporters that Romney would support Israel’s right to launch a unilateral military strike against Iran.

“It is an existential threat, and we in the West partnering with Israel should do everything we can from stopping Iran from developing that weapons capability,” Senor said. “And if Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision.”

Senor stressed that Romney is not “advocating” for military action, but he believes it should be an option.

Romney in  Jerusalem said the United States would support Israel’s efforts to defend itself. But the Republican presidential hopeful stopped short of asserting that he would support a unilateral military strike by Israel against Iran to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear capability.

“We must not delude ourselves into thinking that containment is an option,” Romney said. “We must lead the effort to prevent Iran from building and possessing nuclear weapons capability. We should employ any and all measures to dissuade the Iranian regime from its nuclear course, and it is our fervent hope that diplomatic and economic measures will do so.

“In the final analysis, of course, no option should be excluded,” Romney continued. “We recognize Israel’s right to defend itself, and that it is right for America to stand with you.”

US has announced fresh stiffer sanctions against foreign banks that help Iran sell its oil. An executive order to this effect has been signed by President Obama Obama. He said the measure would increase pressure on Tehran for failing to meet its international nuclear obligations. The new sanctions target foreign banks that handle transactions for Iranian oil or handle large transactions from the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) or Naftiran Intertrade Company (NICO).

Obama's order also targets China's Bank of Kunlun and Iraq's Elaf Islamic Bank for providing services to Iranian banks. The sanctions will also apply in case of transactions of Iranian oil conducted through through informal means or barter in addition to those by the banks and financial institutions. The executive order also broadens U.S. sanctions on any person or entity engaged in the purchase or acquisition from Iran's petrochemical industry.

Oil and Petrochemical industry account for nearly 80 percent of Iran’s revenues. The new executive order also provides waiver to countries that have cut the purchases of Iranian oil significantly. The fresh sanctions are aimed at measures circumventing the payment mechanisms for Iran oil trade. It follows broadly the US Law on oil trade sanctions in December after which Japan, South Korea, India and China significantly cut their purchases to avoid penalties. The decision came ahead of a vote on new sanctions on Iran in the US House of Representatives expected today.

US and Western nations say the move will exert pressure on Iran to curb its drive to acquire nuclear weapons nuclear ambitions. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Stating that the window of opportunity for Iran to reach a diplomatic solution over its nuclear programme is "shrinking", the US has warned that it has all the options on its table to stop Tehran from acquiring atomic weapons.

"The policy of this administration has been that there is still a window -- a shrinking window, but still a window nonetheless -- for a diplomatic solution to be reached to resolve these concerns about the Iranians' failure to live up to their international obligations," White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

 "So we're going to continue to work in coordinated fashion with the international community, including with the Israelis. We have marched in lockstep with them, we've been side by side with them as they've confronted this threat, and will continue to be," Earnest said.

"All options do remain on the table. That's something that we've said all along, that continues to be the case.

But right now, what we're focused on is taking advantage of this diplomatic window that remains open to pursue a solution that satisfies the world community and results in the Iranian regime living up to their international obligations," he said in response to a question.

Earnest said when Obama took office in 2009, the international community was splintered about how to confront the challenge of Iran and their aspirations for a nuclear weapon, while inside the Islamic republic there was unanimity among that regime that pursuing a nuclear weapon was the wisest course of action.