US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro on Wednesday said Washington would maintain the pressure on Iran in order to keep the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons, and that all options, including military force, remained available.

Shapiro said that the aim of the US is clear — thwarting Iran’s nuclear weapons drive. While Washington prefers the path of diplomacy and sanctions, it will use any means necessary to achieve the goal, the ambassador added.

“Our objective is clear: to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, through diplomacy and sanctions if possible, but also through other ways, including the military option, if necessary,” Shapiro said at an event in Haifa University on Wednesday inaugurating the Ruderman Program for American Jewish Studies, the country’s only graduate program devoted to studying American Jewry.

Shapiro spoke as world powers and Iran met in Geneva.

He reiterated US Secretary of State John Kerry’s mantra that “no deal is better than a bad deal” and added that “we will not reach a bad deal.”

A brief session of talks between the P5+1 states and Iran ended Wednesday night with both sides expressing hope of a possible deal being signed Thursday. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton were set to meet once again Thursday morning.

Still, there were reports that Iran was claiming a “crisis of faith” with the P5+1 nations. And a senior American official who spoke to Israel Radio said that it remained unclear whether a deal would be signed in this round of talks in Geneva. ”It’s very hard to make a deal this week,” a US official told the press.

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni also spoke about the possible deal in the works with Iran, expressing concern that a problematic interim deal would turn final, Israel Radio reported. She said that despite disagreements between the US and Israel over the issue of Iran, relations between Jerusalem and Washington are critical to Israel’s future.

Amid repeated reports and optimism from officials of an approaching agreement, Israel has raised its concerns and objections to the international community inking any deal that falls short of ensuring the cessation of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, the removal of its stockpiled enriched uranium, and the dismantling of a heavy water facility under construction near Arak.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to also discuss Iran’s nuclear aspirations.

The US has touted a policy of signing an interim agreement as a stepping-stone to a more comprehensive arrangement several months down the line.

Iran insists on its right to enrich uranium that the Israel, the US and its allies, fear will be used to make nuclear weapons. Likewise, the half-built heavy water facility could produce plutonium for an atomic device.

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