President Obama’s new hawkish pledge to Israelis that with Iran apparently on the brink of acquiring a nuclear weapon, he doesn’t want to “cut it too close,” could be setting the stage for military action, experts told the Herald.

“Right now, we think it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don’t want to cut it too close,” Obama told an Israeli TV station in an interview, which aired yesterday ahead of the president’s planned visit. “So when I’m consulting with Bibi (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) as I have over the last several years on this issue, my message to him will be the same as before: ‘If we can resolve it diplomatically, that is a more lasting solution. But if not, I continue to keep all options on the table.’ ”

The Obama administration has previously said it would prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, but Obama’s new comments have a sense of urgency that bring him closer to Israel’s position that Iran should be prevented from obtaining the components necessary to make a nuclear weapon, according to John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org.

“I think this significantly raises the possibility of military action against Iran this year,” Pike said. “If it were up to Israelis, it would be in the next couple months. Obama is saying give us another year. I think what they’re going to be haggling over is the timetable and who’s going to be doing it.”

The topic of Iran will likely dominate the conversation during Obama’s three-day visit to Israel set to begin Wednesday, according to William Martel, international security professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School. He said Obama’s new stance could also pressure the Iranians into meaningful negotiations with the United States.

“All evidence has pointed to the fact that Iran is moving relentlessly toward nuclear weapons. But it is a critical shift in the debate for the president to come out and put a timeline on when Iran might develop nuclear weapons,” Martel said. “It could definitely set the stage for military action if the U.S. is willing to do this, but I’m not clear we are willing to do that.”

The Associated Press ?contributed to this report.