JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would back Israel if it were to decide it had to use military force to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, a senior aide said on Sunday.

"If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision," Romney's senior national security aide Dan Senor told reporters traveling with the candidate.

The comment made ahead of Romney's planned meetings in Jerusalem with Israeli leaders seemed to differ with President Barack Obama's attempts to convince Israel to avoid any preemptive attack.

(Created by Allyn Fisher-Ilan)