JERUSALEM - Echoing sentiments earlier expressed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren indicated Tuesday night that a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities was on the table.

During an interview with CNN, when asked whether Israel would embark on such an operation, Oren replied, “Israel, like any country in the world, has a right to defend itself, and we have a particular memory of 65 years ago when Jews didn’t have a right to defend themselves, and we remember what happened.”

Earlier Tuesday, after meetings at the Pentagon with the top US civilian and uniformed officials, Barak said that while the US was "doing the right thing" by pursuing a diplomatic solution to the Iranian threat, the world cannot afford to wait too long.

Barak said he supports the US focus on tougher economic sanctions against Teheran, and the United States is the only world power that can muster a coordinated global effort to deter Iran through economic pressure.

"Only time will tell to what extent they are really effective," Barak said He warned that if the world waits too long, Iran could acquire a nuclear weapon that would "change the landscape" of the entire world, not just of the Middle East.