Israeli President Shimon Peres said that US President Barack Obama is “a great president and a great friend of Israel,” on Thursday. Peres said that the security cooperation between the US and Israel is “the best we’ve ever had” and that he has “the highest respect” for Obama for overseeing this relationship.

In an hour-long interview with American broadcaster Charlie Rose, conducted before a large audience at New York’s 92nd Street Y, Peres said that he does not want to interfere in American politics, but he is stating his opinion on Obama “because it’s true.”

Peres said that the meeting next week between Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu is “important” and that he is confident that the two leaders “will reach an agreement” on Iran.

Peres declined to deny the Haaretz report that he himself will tell Obama in their meeting Sunday, he is opposed to an attack on Iran, but did say that he supports the formula that “all options are on the table.” Otherwise, he said, Iran will not take the world’s efforts to curtail its nuclear program seriously.

Peres said that Iran is “morally corrupt” and “the center of terror in our time.” He said that to describe the Iranian leadership as “rational” is “very generous.”

For more, go to haaretz.com

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a matched gift today.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT