WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned Tehran on Tuesday that if she were president, the United States could "totally obliterate" Iran in retaliation for a nuclear strike against Israel.

On the day of a crucial vote in her nomination battle against fellow Democrat Barack Obama, the New York senator said she wanted Iranians to know what she was prepared to do as president in hopes of deterring an Iranian nuclear attack on Israel.

"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran," Clinton said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."

"In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them," she said.

Nice omission of context there, pal. Clinton has always had liberal hawk credentials, but I don't see a realistic circumstance where she would have ever launched a ground invasion of Iran.

In addition, you're going back to the 2008 primary there.