"These are substantial limitations which will help prevent Iran
from building a nuclear weapon," Obama said at the White House
late Saturday.
The president spoke shortly after the U.S. and
five international partners agreed to a short-term deal with
Iran that is aimed at paving the way for a broader agreement to
curb Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Under terms of the deal,
Iran agreed to halt progress on key elements of its nuclear
program in exchange for modest relief from U.S. economic
sanctions.
Obama pledged to hold off from imposing new sanctions during
the terms of the six-month agreement, a position likely to anger
some in Congress who have been pushing for even tougher
penalties against Iran.
"If Iran does not fully meet its commitments during this
six-month phase, we will turn off the relief and ratchet up the
pressure," he said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said this week
that while he supports the administration's diplomatic effort
"we need to leave our legislative options open to act on a new,
bipartisan sanctions bill next month" after lawmakers return
from a Thanksgiving break.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a potential candidate
to succeed Obama in 2016, pledged to work with others in the
Senate to increase the economic pressure on Iran until it
"completely abandons" its capability to enrich and reprocess the
uranium needed to make weapons.
"This agreement makes a nuclear Iran more, not less, likely,"
Rubio said in a statement.
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House
Armed Services Committee, said that, while the deal represents
serious progress in the yearslong quest to curb Iran's nuclear
ambitions, "far more work remains to be done."
"It is vital that we prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear
weapon in a peaceful way," Smith said.
