JACKSONVILLE - US presidential candidate Barack Obama has said that Israel is justified in providing for its security amid the "extraordinary threat" posed to it by Iran, Reuters reported.

His comments came in response to a recent New York Times article which quotes unnamed US officials as saying that Israel had carried out a large military exercise this month that appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Irans nuclear facilities.

Obama, a Democrat who is running against Republican John McCain in the November election, was asked at a news conference in Jacksonville, Florida whether Israel was right to carry out the exercise.

According to Reuters, he told reporters that the Jewish state was right to be concerned about the anti-Israel comments of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and about Tehrans support for Hezbollah and Hamas.

"And so there is no doubt that Iran poses an extraordinary threat to Israel and Israel is always justified in making decisions that will provide for its security," Obama said.

According to the New York Times, more than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters took part in wargames over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece during the first week of June.

It said the exercise appeared to be an effort to focus on long-range strikes and illustrates the seriousness with which Israel views Irans nuclear program.