Romney: Obama "dawdled" on Iran

BELMONT, Mass. - Adopting a front-runner's posture, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney responded to President Obama's criticism Tuesday of drumbeating by the Republicans on global hot spots, saying the president wasted valuable time while Iran increased its nuclear arsenal.

Speaking outside a polling place in his hometown of Belmont, Romney said the Obama administration made errors in dealing with Iran, starting with its failure to impose "crippling sanctions" as soon as Obama came into office and to show sufficient support for Iranian dissidents. "He has dawdled for three years to finally get sanctions in place," Romney said.

However, Romney said that he disagreed with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has called for U.S. air strikes against the government of Syria to stop the government's attacks on dissident strongholds.

In a press conference on the day of the GOP's Super Tuesday sweepstakes in 10 primary and caucus states, Obama criticized the Republican field for "the casualness with which some of these folks talk about war."