President Obama drew a line in the sand Wednesday challenging critics
of his historic nuclear deal with Iran to offer alternatives instead of
just shooting it down out of hand.
“Either the issue of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon is resolved
diplomatically through a negotiation or it’s resolved through force,
through war,” Obama said during a wide-ranging news conference at the
White House.
Taking questions from reporters for more than an hour, the President
put up a rousing defense of his signature foreign policy initiative and
hammered home the argument that the accord will “cut off every single
one of Iran’s pathways” to developing nuclear weapons “for at least a
decade.”
“We don’t have diplomatic leverage to eliminate every vestige of a
peaceful nuclear program in Iran. What we do have is the leverage to
make sure they don’t have a weapon. That’s exactly what we’ve done,” he
said.
“Without a deal, there would be no limits (on the nuclear program),” Obama said. “Without a deal, those inspections go away.
“Without a deal, we risk war.”
Citing a barrage of criticism by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and congressional Republicans, Obama called their claims “a
lot of talking points.”
“None of them have presented to me or the American people a better alternative,” he said.
Netanyahu, backed by an array of pro-Israeli groups, including the
influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which weighed in
against the deal for the first time Wednesday, urged members of Congress
to reject it.
“This deal poses a great danger to Israel. I believe it poses a great
danger to America and the world,” Netanyahu said on NBC News Wednesday,
complaining that the agreement would leave Iran the ability to develop a
bomb within a year.
And in an address earlier to the Israeli parliament, he repeated his claim that the country is not bound by the agreement.
“We will reserve our right to defend ourselves against all of our
enemies. We have strength, and it is great and mighty,” Netanyahu said.
In Iran, which aired Obama’s comments Tuesday after the accord was
reached live on state TV, the President’s news conference Wednesday
remained off the air.
But after Tuesday’s announcement, Iranians cheered and honked their
vehicles’ horns in celebration of the landmark agreement in Tehran,
where Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the pact a
“win-win” for the countries involved.
The onslaught of opposition left the White House scrambling to bolster
support from Democrats it needs to ensure Congress cannot override the
veto Obama has promised of any bill blocking the agreement.
A veto override requires two-thirds of votes in each chamber of
Congress. More than enough Democratic senators remained undecided
Wednesday to create the chance Republicans can pick up 13 Democrats they
would need to overcome an Obama veto.
Opponents of Iran nuclear deal blast pact, Obama after agreement reached
Lawmakers from New York are expected to play key roles.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, an influential voice on the deal and the
third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said he has not taken a position
and was still studying the complex agreement.
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