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 Obama made his case in a nationally televised news conference
responding to critics at home and abroad after Iran and six world
powers sealed an accord in Vienna on Tuesday to restrict Tehran’s
nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
"Without a deal,” Obama said, “there would be no limits to Iran’s
nuclear program and Iran could move closer to a nuclear bomb ...
Without a deal, we risk even more war in the Middle East.”
Obama, who must still overcome a congressional hurdle to enact the
accord, said that if the United States does not seize the
opportunity, “future generations will judge us harshly.”
The agreement is a triumph for Obama, who has made outreach to
America’s enemies a hallmark of his presidency, but it is also seen
as his biggest foreign policy gamble since taking office in 2009.
In his first public comment, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, said the deal should be scrutinized and legal procedures
taken so the other side does not breach it.
In a letter to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Khamenei - whose
ultimate backing was critical to securing the agreement - said some
of the powers involved in the negotiations "are not trustworthy."
 Obama is now spearheading an intense White House push to counter
Republican critics in Congress and reassure jittery allies such as
Israel and Saudi Arabia.
He sent Vice President Joe Biden to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to
corral fellow Democrats who might be wavering. Defense Secretary Ash
Carter will travel next week to Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Critics say the deal contains loopholes, especially in inspection
procedures that Iran could exploit, and will provide Tehran with an
infusion of unfrozen assets to fund its proxies in sectarian
conflicts from Syria to Iraq to Yemen.
LAWYERLY APPROACH
At Wednesday's news conference, Obama spoke in a lawyerly tone, at
times mocking opponents of the deal, including Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for offering no viable alternative. He
dismissed critics' objections one by one and even solicited others
from journalists.
Obama contended the deal was sound and that a "snap-back" mechanism
in it to restore sanctions if Iran cheated would ensure Tehran faced
real consequences.
But he acknowledged that although he hopes the deal will encourage
Iran to rein in its aggressive conduct in the region, he was not
betting on a change.
Obama said without a deal other countries in the Middle East would
feel compelled to pursue their own nuclear arms programs.
"There really are only two alternatives here," he said, citing
diplomacy or war, an appeal to war-weary Americans to back a
negotiated settlement with Iran.
Under the agreement, sanctions imposed by the United States, the
European Union and the United Nations will be lifted in return for
Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear program that the West has
suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb. Iran says the
program is peaceful.
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Obama has run into a storm of accusations from Republican lawmakers
and Israel that he gave away too much to Tehran.
Obama has vowed to veto any effort to block the deal and although he
faces a tough challenge in the Republican-controlled Congress, he is
expected to prevail.
He said he does not anticipate Republicans in Congress will rally
around the pact but said that if lawmakers vote based on the facts,
the majority should approve it.
The agreement, the biggest step toward rapprochement between Iran
and the West since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is a legacy-defining
achievement for Obama as well as his best hope for salvaging an
otherwise shaky Middle East record.
Netanyahu cried foul, however, convinced the deal will do little to
curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions and leave Israel under greater
threat.
His nuclear affairs minister said Israel was like the boy in the
fairy tale who pointed out the emperor had no clothes, and
emphasized Israel's right to unilateral self-defense.
“Israel is like the little child that is pointing its finger and
saying, 'the king is naked, this agreement is naked'," said Yuval
Steinitz.
Obama said Israel, widely assumed to be the Middle East's only
nuclear-armed state, had legitimate security concerns but insisted
that danger would be compounded if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon.
Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, told Reuters
Washington would look at ways to deepen its security cooperation
with Israel.
"We will ... be looking forward, if the Israelis are interested and
willing - they haven't said so yet - to discuss with them how we
might further deepen and strengthen our security and intelligence
cooperation," she said.
Congress will have 60 days to review the agreement. Republicans
would need the support of dozens of Democrats to sustain a
"resolution of disapproval" that could cripple a deal. But the odds
are slim that they could muster enough support to overrule an Obama
veto.
(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Roberta Rampton; Additional
reporting by Jeff Mason, Lisa Lambert and Patricia Zengerle in
Washington, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin Nouri in Dubai and Luke Baker in
Jerusalem; Editing by James Dalgleish and Ken Wills)
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