Kerry warns world cannot rely solely on sanctions

US Secretary of State John Kerry says sanctions against Iran have not prevented it from pursuing a nuclear program and sanctions alone cannot achieve the desired result of curbing the program.

“International sanctions, which many want to simply hang their hats on – they may have gotten Iran to the table, but to date they haven’t stopped Iran from advancing its nuclear program,” he said before leaving Switzerland for Saudi Arabia where he is set to meet with foreign ministers from the Gulf states.

“The first and only thing that had stopped their program from progressing in almost a decade was the Joint Plan of Action that we negotiated and we reached in November of 2013, and that has been adhered to in every single respect since then,” Kerry says.