WATCH / Obama: We must engage Syria and Iran in Middle East peace efforts

U.S. president-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday said that he is going to work toward a comprehensive peace in the Middle East "on day one" of presidency on January 20, and that would include Iran and Syria.

"We're going to have to take a regional approach," said Obama in an interview with CBS Evening News. "We're going to have to involve Syria in discussions. We're going to have to engage Iran in ways that we have not before."

"We've got to have a clear bottom line that Israel's security is paramount," Obama said.

However, he also reiterated his commitment to the long-standing peace plan between Israelis and Palestinians: "We have to create a two-state solution where people can live side by side in peace," he said.

Obama has avoided discussing what he would do to end the violence in Gaza, but has said, "The loss of civilian lives in Gaza and in Israel is a source of deep concern for me."