From left: Richard Joel, Brett Stephens, Shmuley Boteach and Sheldon Adelson. Photo: Ian Sterling.

A spokesman for casino magnate, Sheldon Adelson, said in an email to reporters that a suggestion made by the billionaire last week, that the U.S. should drop a nuclear bomb on Iran, was intended as “hyperbole.”

“As one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs, Mr. Adelson was using hyperbole to make a point that — based on his nearly seven decades of experience negotiating business deals — actions speak louder than words,” he said.

Adelson made headlines with his comment about Iran at a discussion forum at Yeshiva University, hosted by The Values Network. Describing the approach he would recommend for dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat he said, “What I would say, you pick up your cellphone […] and you call somewhere in Nebraska and you say, okay, let it go, so there is an atomic weapon that goes over, a ballistic missile, in the middle of the desert that doesn’t hurt a soul…”

“Then you say, ‘See! The next one is in the middle of Tehran. So, we mean business. You want to be wiped out? Go ahead and take a tough position and continue with your nuclear development. You want to be peaceful? Just reverse it all, and we will guarantee you that you can have a nuclear power plant for electricity purposes, energy purposes’,” he continued.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the event’s moderator, also provided his understanding of Adelson’s comments. “When I heard Sheldon make his remark, my initial thought was that his purpose was to goad his more liberal critics into attacking the policy so that their double standards on nuclear threats against Israel could be exposed,” said Boteach.

Watch a video of Adelson’s comments about Iran below: