US President-elect Barack Obama on Friday said that Iran is a genuine threat to America but he prefers diplomacy with the Islamic republic to achieve the national security goals.

"With respect to Iran, I'll have more to say about Iran after January 20. I have said in the past during the course of the campaign that Iran is a genuine threat to US national security. But I have also said that we should be willing to initiate diplomacy as a mechanism to achieve our national security goals," Obama said referring to his speech during the election campaign days.