President Obama has been clear that he is determined to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Under President Obama’s leadership, the United States gained the support of China, Russia, and other nations to pass the most comprehensive international sanctions regime that Iran has ever faced.

The President also worked with Congress to pass the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions and Divestment Act, and signed additional sanctions hitting Iran’s central bank and oil revenues.

President Obama has repeatedly affirmed that the United States is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. He said he will “take no options off the table” in achieving that goal, including “a military effort.” He has said repeatedly that he does not have a “policy of containment,” but rather a “policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

- Barack Obama Official Website

The President is committed to using all instruments of national power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. When President Obama took office, Iran was ascendant in the region, and the international community was divided over how to address Iran’s nuclear violations ... . Working with our European allies and with Russia and China, the administration gained unprecedented agreement for the toughest ever UN sanctions against Iran, laying the foundation for additional national financial and energy sanctions imposed by the United States and other nations. As a result, Iran is now increasingly isolated and the regime faces crippling economic pressure.

President Obama believes that a diplomatic outcome remains the best and most enduring solution. At the same time, he has also made clear that the window for diplomacy will not remain open indefinitely and that all options – including military force – remain on the table.

- Democratic Party Platform 2012

Mitt Romney believes that it is unacceptable for Iran to possess a nuclear weapon.

As Iran’s ballistic missile capacity improves, it will endanger Europe and eventually the continental United States. It will provoke an arms race [in the Arab World]. The result will be a nightmarish cascade of nuclear tensions in the world's most volatile region. Iran’s sponsorship of international terrorism would take on a new and terrifying dimension.

Romney’s strategy will be to end Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon, eliminate the threat of Iranian nuclear terrorism against the United States and our allies, and prevent nuclear proliferation across the Middle East.

Mitt Romney holds that the United States supports the emergence of a democratic alternative to the current repressive and reckless regime in Tehran. He would work to improve the flow of information to the Iranian population about its own government’s repressive activities.

- Mitt Romney Official Website

Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons capability threatens America, Israel, and the world. That threat has only become worse during the current Administration. A continuation of its failed engagement policy with Iran will lead to nuclear cascade.

In solidarity with the international community, America must lead the effort to prevent Iran from building and possessing nuclear weapons capability ... The [Iranian] regime ... exports terror and provided weapons that killed our troops in Iraq. We affirm the unanimous resolution of the U.S. Senate calling for “a representative and responsive democratic government that respects human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law.”

- Republican Party Platform 2012

"Tthe entire world has an interest in preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. A nuclear-armed Iran would thoroughly undermine the non-proliferation regime that we've doen so much to build."

- Barack Obama (March 4, 2012)

"In a Romney administration, the world will know ... that our opposition to a nuclear Iran is absolute. We must not allow Iran to have the bomb or the capacity to make a bomb. Our enemies should never doubt our resolve."

- Mitt Romney (March 6, 2012)

President Obama has repeatedly reaffirmed the special relationship between the U.S. and Israel, and has raised U.S. security assistance to Israel to unprecedented levels. Under President Obama’s leadership, U.S.-Israeli defense cooperation is broader and deeper than ever.

President Obama has consistently demonstrated his ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and well-being, strengthening the unbreakable bond between our two nations. In both word and deed, the President has signaled to the world that the U.S.-Israel relationship is stronger than ever.

The President is working to address Israel’s security needs and ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people.

- Barack Obama Official Website

President Obama and the Democratic Party maintain an unshakable commitment to Israel’s security. A strong and secure Israel is vital to the United States not simply because we share strategic interests, but also because we share common values ... the President has worked with Congress to increase security assistance to Israel every single year since taking office, providing nearly $10 billion in the past three years.

The administration has also worked to ensure Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region. And we have deepened defense cooperation – including funding the Iron Dome system – to help Israel address its most pressing threats, including the growing danger posed by rockets and missiles emanating from the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. The President’s consistent support for Israel’s right to defend itself and his steadfast opposition to any attempt to delegitimize Israel on the world stage are further evidence of our enduring commitment to Israel’s security.

- Democratic Party Platform 2012

Israel is the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East and a beacon of democracy and freedom in the region. The tumult in the Middle East has heightened Israel’s security problems and this is a dangerous moment for the Jewish state. It has deteriorating relationships with Turkey and Egypt. It faces longstanding dangers from Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, a violent and highly unstable Syria, and a nuclear-aspiring Iran whose leadership is openly calling for Israel’s annihilation.

To ensure Israel’s security, Mitt Romney will work closely with Israel to maintain its strategic military edge. The United States will work intensively with Turkey and Egypt to shore up the now fraying relationships with Israel that have underpinned peace in the Middle East for decades. The United States must forcefully resist the emergence of anti-Israel policies in Turkey and Egypt, and work to make clear that their interests are not served by isolating Israel.

- Mitt Romney Official Website

Israel and the United States are part of the great fellowship of democracies who speak the same language of freedom and justice, and the right of every person to live in peace. The security of Israel is in the vital national security interest of the United States; our alliance is based not only on shared interests, but also shared values.

We affirm our unequivocal commitment to Israel’s security and will ensure that it maintains a qualitative edge in military technology over any potential adversaries. We support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state with secure, defensible borders; and we envision two democratic states – Israel with Jerusalem as its capital and Palestine – living in peace and security.

- Republican Party Platform 2012

“We’ve stood by Israel’s side in the face of criticism. Our military and intelligence cooperation has never been closer ... now is the time to make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect Israel’s security ... that is an issue of how we work with one of our closest allies in the world that shares our values and believes in democracy.”

- Barack Obama (July 19, 2012)

“[The Obama Administration] has repeated this many times since, that the bonds between Israel and the United States are unbreakable … In pursuing, for example, the joint military exercises for military defense between the Israeli army and the American military; in securing Israel’s qualitative military edge; and in many other activities along the world’s scene, including the battle against the infamous Goldstone report.”

- Joe Biden (March 9, 2010)

“American and Israel are bound together by common committments and shared values ... and because we share the same values, we also share many of the same adversaries ... We know that Israel is America’s most ardent ally in the Middle East."

- Mitt Romney (October 19, 2009)

"America has no better friend in the Middle East than the nation of Israel ... [as] the region’s only fully functioning democracy, with a government based on popular consent and the rule of law ... Our shared democratic values and national interests are supported by maintaining a close friendship with Israel."

- Paul Ryan (Official Site)

President Obama has strongly objected to Palestinian plans to unilaterally declare statehood, condemned Palestinian incitement against Israel, and demanded that Hamas forgo violence and recognize Israel.

President Obama prevented Palestinian efforts to unilaterally seek statehood through the United Nations and was actively engaged behind the scenes encouraging our partners and allies not to support Palestinian efforts to circumvent direct negotiations with Israel.

The Obama administration has repeatedly condemned instances of Palestinian incitement against Jews and Israel.

- Barack Obama Official Website

President Obama and the Democratic Party seek peace between Israelis and Palestinians. A just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian accord, producing two states for two peoples, would contribute to regional stability and help sustain Israel’s identity as a Jewish and democratic state.

At the same time, the President has made clear that there will be no lasting peace unless Israel’s security concerns are met. President Obama will continue to press Arab states to reach out to Israel. We will continue to support Israel’s peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan ... the President and the Democratic Party continue to encourage all parties to be resolute in the pursuit of peace, we will insist that any Palestinian partner must recognize Israel’s right to exist, reject violence, and adhere to existing agreements ...

Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel.  The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.

- Democratic Party Platform 2012

As president, Mitt Romney will reject any measure that would frustrate direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. He will make clear to the Palestinians that the unilateral attempt to decide issues that are designated for final negotiations by the Oslo Accords is unacceptable.

The United States will reduce assistance to the Palestinians if they continue to pursue United Nations recognition or form a unity government that includes Hamas, a terrorist group dedicated to Israel’s destruction. The United States must work as a country to resist the worldwide campaign to delegitimize Israel. We must fight against that campaign in every forum and label it the anti-Semitic poison that it is. Israel’s existence as a Jewish state is not up for debate.

- Mitt Romney Official Website

We support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state with secure, defensible borders; and we envision two democratic states – Israel with Jerusalem as its capital and Palestine – living in peace and security.

The Palestinian people must support leaders who reject terror, embrace the institutions and ethos of democracy, and respect the rule of law ... Israel should not be expected to negotiate with entities pledged to her destruction.

The U.S. seeks a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East, negotiated between the parties themselves with the assistance of the U.S., without the imposition of an artificial timetable. Essential to that process will be a just, fair, and realistic framework for dealing with the issues that can be settled on the basis of mutually agreed changes reflecting today’s realities as well as tomorrow’s hopes.

- Republican Party Platform 2012

“Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations — if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now … Ultimately, it is the Israelis and the Palestinians - not us - who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them.”

- Barack Obama (September 21, 2011)

"[The President] must make clear that if the Palestinian Authority succeeds in gaining any type of U.N. recognition, the United States will cut foreign assistance to the Palestinians ... Actions that compromise the interests of the United States ... must have consequences."

- Mitt Romney (September 20, 2011)

It represented a genuine and liberal democratic rising that might replace regimes.

American opposition to these risings might result in the emergence of anti-American regimes in these countries.

The United States must embrace the general idea of the Arab risings but be selective in specific cases; thus, it should support the rising in Egypt, but not necessarily in Bahrain

- Barack Obama Official Website

Across the Middle East and North Africa, we have stood with the people demanding political change and seeking their rights during the Arab Spring ... The United States has consistently opposed violence against innocent civilians, supported a set of universal rights for the people of the region, and supported processes of political and economic reform ... We will continue to support the consolidation of democratic transitions in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen. And we will engage governments and civil society across the region on behalf of genuine efforts to promote political and economic reforms that are responsive to the people of the region.

The Arab Spring represents the world’s most sweeping recent movement toward democracy.

- Democratic Party Platform 2012

The Romney administration will strive to ensure that the Arab Spring is not followed by an Arab Winter.

To protect our national interests and to promote our ideals, a Romney administration will pursue a strategy of supporting groups and governments across the Middle East to advance the values of representative government, economic opportunity, and human rights, and opposing any extension of Iranian or jihadist influence.

A Romney administration will support those individuals and groups that are seeking to instill lasting democratic values and build sturdy democratic institutions that will sustain open societies.

- Mitt Romney Official Website

We welcome the aspirations of the Arab peoples and others for greater freedom, and we hope that greater liberty – and with it, a greater chance for peace – will result from the recent turmoil.

Many governments in the region have given substantial assistance to the U.S. over the last decade because they understood that our struggle against terror is not an ethnic or religious fight, and that violent extremists are abusers of their faith, not its champions.

- Republican Party Platform 2012

"As the tide of war recedes, a wave of change has washed across the Middle East and North Africa ... How this incredible transformation will end remains uncertain. But we have a huge stake in the outcome ... We will stand against violence ... We will support policies that lead to strong and stable democracies and open markets, because tyranny is no match for liberty."

- Barack Obama (January 24, 2012)

"The Arab Spring is not appropriately named ... It has become a development of more concern and it occurred in part because of the reluctance on the part of various dictators to provide more freedom to their citizens ... the Arab Spring has become the Arab Winter."

- Mitt Romney (July 27, 2012)

As we secure the world’s most dangerous weapons, we are fighting a war against a far-reaching network of hatred and violence. We will disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qa’ida and its affiliates through a comprehensive strategy that denies them safe haven, strengthens front-line partners, secures our homeland, pursues justice through durable legal approaches, and counters a bankrupt agenda of extremism and murder with an agenda of hope and opportunity.

- Barack Obama National Security Strategy

The greatest dangers we face – terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cyber and biological attacks – cannot be solved by any one nation alone ... President Obama is committed to maintaining robust security cooperation with Gulf Cooperation Council states and our other partners aimed at deterring aggression, checking Iran’s destabilizing activities, and building a regional security architecture to counter terrorism, proliferation, ballistic missiles,and other common threats.

- Democratic Party Platform 2012

A Romney administration will strengthen old partnerships and alliances, and inaugurate a new one, to address the threat of Jihadism.

Romney's strategy is to expand and accelerate actions meant to combat nuclear terrorism whil also working to make nuclear trafficking a crime against humanity.  He will work with Russia to contain the threat of nuclear terrorism.

- Mitt Romney Official Website

Radical elements like Hamas and Hezbollah must be isolated because they do not meet the standards of peace and diplomacy of the international community ... We support the transition to a post-Assad Syrian government that is representative of its people, protects the rights of all minorities and religions, respects the territorial integrity of its neighbors, and contributes to peace and stability in the region.

- Republican Party Platform 2012

“It is a sign neither of courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That’s not how moral authority is claimed; that’s how it is surrendered …. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, recognize Israel’s right to exist.”

- Barack Obama (June 4, 2009)

"I do not believe that the cause of freedom ended with the close of the last century, nor that America can afford complacency in its defense. America is still the hope of the world. We must confront clearly and courageously the threats to freedom, and we must resolutely sustain the capabilities we need to protect our security and sustain the cause of liberty."

- Mitt Romney (June 1, 2009)