Obama hails ‘historic understanding’ with Iran
Obama hails “historic understanding with Iran, which if fully implemented” will prevent it from building nuclear weapons.
If framework reaches final deal “it will make our country,” and “our allies safe.”
He says the agreement is “a long time coming.”
When Iran did not agree to negotiations, the US pushed sanctions which would not halt their program, but which “did help bring Iran to the negotiating table.”
The president says skeptics predicted interim agreement would fail, but “Iran met all of its obligations.”
Announcing deal, he says: “And it is a good deal. A deal that meets our core objectives.”
Defending inspections and scrutiny, he says: “This deal is not based on trust. It’s based on unprecedented verification.”
“Nothing is agreed to, until everything is agreed.”
He says Iran will not develop weapons-grade plutonium, material at Arak will be shipped out of the country. Second, “this deal shuts down Iran’s path to the bomb using uranium.” He says it will cut down stockpile by two-thirds.
“Even if it violated the deal, Iran would be a minimum of a year away from developing a bomb.”
Limitations will last for 15 years, and transparency measures for 20 years or more, he says.
“If Iran cheats, the world will know.”
With this deal, Iran will face many more inspections than any other country, the US president says.
“If Iran violates the deal, sanctions could be snapped back into place,” he adds.
He emphasizes: “Our work is not yet done. The deal is not yet signed.”
He says negotiators will fully brief Congress, and the US people.
The president says a military strike would spark a new war in the Middle East, and only set back the nuclear program by a few years.
Iran will not simply dismantle its program because the world demands it, he says.
He says majority of the world believes agreement is “a fair deal.”
“It is our best option by far,” he says.
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