Israel is preparing to carry out a false flag operation in the United States and will blame it on Iran as a strategy to entangle Washington in a war with Tehran, a former US Senate candidate says.

“I have maintained from the beginning that Israel is planning and will in some point attempt a false flag incident probably within the continental United States that will be facilitated by Israeli intelligence and falsely blamed on Iran,” said Mark Dankof, who is also a broadcaster and pastor in San Antonio, Texas.

“This lie will be repeated in the American news media time and time and time again to create the furor within the United States, with the American public for [triggering] an overt American attack on the Iranians,” Dankof told Press TV on Tuesday.

“This would be disastrous of course, but I think this is what Israel is aiming for; they’ll attempt to do it through a false flag incident that will be falsely pinned on Iran and they have plenty of allies in the American national security agencies,” he added.

US President Barack Obama admitted on Monday that a military operation against Iran’s nuclear program “will not eliminate it."

“A military solution will not fix it. Even if the United States participates, it would temporarily slow down an Iranian nuclear program but it will not eliminate it,” Obama told Israel’s Channel 2 on Monday.

The US president said there were “facts and evidence and analysis” showing that a “verifiable, tough agreement” is a better choice.

Obama’s remarks came as efforts were underway by negotiators from Iran and the six global powers -- the US, Russia, Britain, France, China, and Germany -- to clinch a comprehensive deal over Tehran’s nuclear program before a self-imposed deadline set for the end of this month.

“I think President Obama is quite naturally reluctant to engage in any further American military activities in the Middle East and especially directed against Iran given how badly the American efforts have gone in both Afghanistan and Iraq,” Dankof said.

AHT/GJH