President Barack Obama spent Monday defending his Iran deal, admitting, nonetheless, that his administration was facing “huge challenges” trying to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Obama insisted that his policy of diplomacy instead of sanctions and a military attack will prove productive, saying that “tough talk” will not promote U.S. security.
“For the first time in a decade, we’ve halted the progress on Iran’s nuclear program,” Obama said. “Key parts of the program will be rolled back.”
The president said diplomacy would continue to be used to remove, “once and for all,” the “threat of Iran’s nuclear program.”
“Huge challenges remain, but we cannot close the door on diplomacy, and we cannot rule out peaceful solutions to the world’s problems,” Obama said. “We cannot commit ourselves to an endless cycle of violence, and tough talk and bluster may be the easy thing to do politically, but it’s not the right thing for our security.”
Israeli officials told the AP that the final deal between Iran and the Western powers must go beyond freezing Iran’s program, to actually roll back the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons program.
From Israel’s perspective, the AP writer quipped, the world powers must show they have not been duped by Iran’s campaign of amiability and still have the stomach to press on with crippling sanctions if needed.
Good luck with that one, of course.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Sunday’s agreement as a “historic mistake” and insisted Israel was not bound by it.