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US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has affirmed his backing for Israel during the latest stop on his foreign tour.
The Republican candidate is promoting his pro-Israel credentials as he prepares to take on Barack Obama in November's election.
During the trip to Jerusalem, a senior aide has revealed that Mr Romney would support an Israeli military strike to prevent Iran from securing a nuclear weapon.
The White House candidate has been holding talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres.
Mr Romney is also due to meet with Israeli opposition politicians and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, but he will not meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
He told Mr Peres: "Like you, we are concerned about the development of nuclear capacity on the part of Iran and feel it would be unacceptable for Iran to become a nuclear-armed nation."
His senior national security adviser went further, telling reporters: "If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision."
Mr Romney is hoping that a tough stance on Iran will be a vote-winner in the forthcoming election. He has previously accused Mr Obama of undermining Israel and boosting its enemies.
While not explicitly ruling out military action, Mr Obama has been to stress a preference for putting pressure on Iran through non-military means.
In recent weeks, several senior US officials have held talks in Jerusalem, among them US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan and Clinton's deputy William Burns.
And US defence chief Leon Panetta is due in Israel next week for top-level talks, with Iran likely to play a central role in his discussions
The first leg of Mr Romney's trip, in London, was judged a PR disaster after he was widely criticised for questioning London's Olympic preparations on the eve of the Games.
He initially said some aspects of the planning for London 2012 had been "disconcerting".
But after his comments were challenged by figures including London Mayor Boris Johnson and Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, he backtracked and said he expected the Games to be "very successful".
