President Obama, during an important White House meeting and lunch Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is expected to assert that the United States “will not hesitate” to use military force to defend America and its interests, including Israel.

But he will also tell Netanyahu that when it comes to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the United States supports peace and wants to give diplomacy and economic sanctions a chance to influence Iran before contemplating military strikes intended to hobble that country’s strides to develop a nuclear weapon.

In an address Sunday to more than 13,000 people gathered in Washington for the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference, the president at times sounded frustrated that his commitment to Israel has been cast as weak or unreliable by some of his critics, including Republican presidential candidates. (Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are scheduled to address the conference Tuesday by remote hook-up.)

“Over the last three years as president of the United States, I have kept my commitments to the state of Israel,” Obama said. “At every crucial juncture -- at every fork in the road -- we have been there for Israel, every single time.”

The president told the influential AIPAC attendees, who will hear from Netanyahu on Monday evening, that the U.S. posture toward Iran is focused on diplomacy, international isolation and economic sanctions as the smartest policies to compel that country to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

The applause was boisterous for the sections of Obama’s speech that affirmed America’s commitment to deploy military force in defense of its strongest ally in the Middle East. “Iran’s leaders should understand that I do not have a policy of containment; I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” the president said. “And as I have made clear time and again during the course of my presidency, I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests.”

The audience was noticeably more subdued when the president said, “I make no apologies for pursuing peace.”

Obama, who captured 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008 against John McCain, pointedly affirmed America’s commitment to stand with Israel -- even as he said the United States will seek to dissuade Israel from trying to strike Iran before other options have run their course. Netanyahu is eager to discuss with Obama specific threat thresholds that could conceivably trigger military strikes against Iran.

Israel wants Iran to commit to suspend all enrichment of uranium, verifiable by United Nations inspectors, as a condition of resuming negotiations between Iran and Western allies about Tehran’s nuclear program. The Obama administration has rejected this idea, arguing that Iran would reject it outright, which would undercut any hope of negotiations.

The Israeli prime minister, who has butted heads with Obama in the past, has openly expressed more urgency about Iran’s nuclear intentions, and shows less patience with the notion that economic sanctions can force concessions out of Tehran. The president believes discussion of war with Iran is sparking unintended consequences -- rising gasoline prices is one such example -- harmful to Israel and the United States. The administration believes there is no conclusive evidence that Iran is close to producing a nuclear device.

The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency reported last month that Iran has revved up its uranium enrichment program. “Contrary to the relevant resolutions of the Board of Governors and the Security Council, Iran has not suspended its enrichment related activities,” the 11-page report stated. But U.S. intelligence analysts insist there is no certainty that Iran has decided to build a nuclear weapon.