Obama defends diplomacy with Iran

US President Barack Obama defends nuclear diplomacy with Iran, saying talks can achieve greater peace for Israel and the United States than could military action.

Speaking to the Brookings Institution’s Saban Forum on Saturday, the US president explained some of the gaps existing between himself and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who keeps opposing a nuclear deal reached last month between Iran and six world powers – the US, Britain, Russia, France, China and Germany, known as the P5+1.

“There are times where I, as president of the United States, am going to have different tactical perspectives than the prime minister of Israel,” Obama said.

The president criticized Netanyahu for believing that the constant mounting of pressure will ultimately lead the Iranians to halt their nuclear energy program, including enrichment-related activities. No political party in Tehran will tolerate anything but a “dignified solution” to the decade-long nuclear dispute, Obama asserted.

He said an “ideal” agreement to eliminate “every nut and bolt” of Iran’s nuclear program was not a realistic goal.

According to the six-month deal struck in Geneva, the US and five other powers have agreed to reduce some of the existing economic sanctions on Iran. The interim deal gives negotiators the time and space to discuss a long-term agreement in which Iran would continue to enrich “low level” uranium while the world powers would lift all sanctions on the nation.

Obama reiterated that he was prepared to increase sanctions and even order a military strike if Tehran did not adhere to the terms of the Geneva accord.

“I will say that if we cannot get the kind of comprehensive end state that satisfies us and the world community and the P5-plus-1, then the pressure that we’ve been applying on them and the options that I’ve made clear I can avail myself of, including a military option, is one that we would consider and prepare for,” he stated.

Obama also said that the interim deal did not grant Iran the “right to enrich” uranium.

Iran’s right to enrich uranium had been a key sticking point in Geneva last month. After the agreement was announced, Iranian officials stated that the document included Iran’s right for enrichment. US officials, on the other hand, insisted that the deal did not grant Tehran such right.

Many US allies in the Middle East, including Israel, and many in Congress have criticized the Geneva accord and insisted that any final deal should force Iran to dismantle its entire enrichment program.

Obama said the US remained committed to Israel’s security, and that the bilateral military and intelligence cooperation “has never been stronger.”

After the Nov. 24 agreement, the White House opposed new congressional proposals to increase economic sanctions on Iran, saying they would scuttle the interim deal and end hopes for a permanent one.

The Iranian side also hopes that the deal would create a win-win situation.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, Abbas Araghchi, urged the P5+1 not to lose the opportunity created after the Geneva deal to resolve the nuclear dispute. He said there is no single winner in negotiations, and that a resolution of the issue will benefit both sides.