Obama: Less worry about an Israel-Iran attack?

President Obama and aides may be less worried these days about an Israeli attack on Iran before the Nov. 6 election.

In his speech to the United Nations yesterday, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in terms of "spring" and "summer" in demanding that the U.N. -- and the United States -- stop Iran from achieving the means to make a nuclear weapon.

"By next spring, at most next summer, at current enrichment rates, they will have finished the medium enrichment and moved on to the final stage," Netanyahu said of the Iranians. "From there it's only a few months, possibly a few weeks, before they get enough enriched uranium for the first bomb."

Netanyahu, who has clashed with Obama over Iran policy in the past, also had kind words for the president's pledge to block Iran's path to nuclear weapons.

Said Netanyahu: "I very much appreciate the president's position, as does everyone in my country."

Netanyahu also met yesterday with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and may well speak with Obama today.

It all suggests that any confrontation between Israel and Iran would not happen before spring (and after the election).

All presidents seeking re-election worry about outside events intruding on their campaigns -- and this year, concern about an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has been at the top of the list.

Obama and aides have urged Netanyahu to hold off, and give sanctions more time to pressure Iran into giving up its nuclear dreams.

The president has also vowed to take action if necessary.

In his U.N. speech on Tuesday, Obama said:

"So let me be clear.: America wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy, and we believe that there is still time and space to do so.

But that time is not unlimited. We respect the right of nations to access peaceful nuclear power, but one of the purposes of the United Nations is to see that we harness that power for peace.

And make no mistake, a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained. It would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations, and the stability of the global economy. It risks triggering a nuclear-arms race in the region, and the unraveling of the non-proliferation treaty. That's why a coalition of countries is holding the Iranian government accountable.

And that's why the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."