WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said the U.S. will work in “lockstep” with Israel to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, adding that he hopes that the crisis will be resolved diplomatically.Obama told NBC television in an interview from the White House Sunday that Israel is “rightly” very concerned about Iran’s nuclear program. He said both Israel and the U.S. “believe that Iran has to stand down.”

Last week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta wouldn’t dispute a report that he believes Israel may attack Iran this spring in an attempt to set back the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

When asked about a potential attack by Iran on the U.S., Obama said, “We don’t see any evidence that they have those intentions or capabilities right now.”

The U.S. president also said he deserves second term despite the nation’s economic woes

Obama said in a pre-Super Bowl interview on NBC that his administration is creating more than 250,000 jobs a month, the most since 2005, and a reversal from the 750,000 jobs the economy was losing three years ago.

He said American manufacturing still needs a boost and “We have got to make sure we are pushing American energy, not just oil and gas, but clean energy.”

Obama added that the country needed to return to “old-fashioned American values,” so “everyone gets a fair shake.”

Three years ago, Obama said if the economy hadn’t turned around by this time, his presidency would be “a one-term proposition.”