|
 Interviewed at the White House, Obama moved to dial back tensions
over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned speech to
Congress on Tuesday opposing the Iran deal, saying it was a
distraction that would not be "permanently destructive" to U.S.
Israeli ties.
But he strongly criticized Netanyahu's stance and stressed there was
a "substantial disagreement" between them over how to achieve their
shared goal of preventing Israel's arch foe from acquiring nuclear
weapons.
Talks between major powers and Iran to restrict Tehran's nuclear
capabilities in exchange for an easing of sanctions have reached a
critical stage ahead of an end of March deadline for a framework
deal and a June 30 date for a final agreement.
Obama's comment about the time frame for a freeze represents one of
the U.S. government's strongest signals yet of its red line for a
successful deal.
“If, in fact, Iran is willing to agree to double-digit years of
keeping their program where it is right now and, in fact, rolling
back elements of it that currently exist ... if we’ve got that, and
we’ve got a way of verifying that, there’s no other steps we can
take that would give us such assurance that they don’t have a
nuclear weapon," he said.
The U.S. goal is to make sure "there’s at least a year between us
seeing them try to get a nuclear weapon and them actually being able
to obtain one," Obama said in the interview, carefully timed by the
White House a day ahead of Netanyahu's polarizing speech to
Congress.
Obama's robust defense of a possible deal with Iran comes as his
administration faces criticism from some quarters that it is being
too eager to complete a deal, at the risk of allowing Iran to
eventually become a nuclear state.
The White House last week denied a report that the United States and
Iran were exploring a possible 10-year deal that would initially
freeze Iran's nuclear program but gradually allow it to increase
activities that could enable it to produce nuclear arms in the last
years of the agreement.
OBAMA: ODDS STILL AGAINST IRAN DEAL
In the interview, Obama again criticized a plan by Republicans and
some Democrats in the U.S. Senate to impose additional sanctions on
Iran if no deal is reached by June 30, saying it could undermine the
delicate talks.
"I'm less concerned, frankly, with Prime Minster Netanyahu’s
commentary than I’m with Congress taking actions that might
undermine the talks before they’re completed."
Despite recent progress in the talks, Obama suggested there had been
little change in his assessment that the negotiations have less than
a 50 percent chance of success.
"I would say that it is probably still more likely than not that
Iran doesn’t get to 'yes,' but I think that, in fairness to them,
they have been serious negotiators and they’ve got their own
politics inside of Iran. It is more likely that we could get a deal
now than perhaps three or five months ago," he said.
An Iran nuclear deal would be a potential signature achievement for
Obama whose foreign policy legacy is mixed with just two years left
in office.
Seemingly intractable challenges, from Russian separatists in
Ukraine to Islamic State militants in Syria, have overshadowed
successes such as the killing of Osama bin Laden and the tentative
opening up of relations with Cuba.
 Israel fears that Obama's Iran diplomacy will still allow Iran to
develop an atom bomb. Tehran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu has spoken scathingly about a possible deal, saying
negotiators appear to have given up on a pledge to prevent Iran from
acquiring nuclear weapons. He says a nuclear-armed Iran would pose
an existential threat to the Jewish state.
[to top of second column] |
NETANYAHU MADE "ALL SORTS OF CLAIMS"
U.S. officials have said the "politicized" nature of Netanyahu's
address, at the invitation of the Republican congressional
leadership, threatens to undermine the close bilateral relationship.
In a speech on Monday to the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC), the largest U.S. pro-Israel lobby, Netanyahu
again warned that a nuclear deal could threaten Israel's survival
while insisting the U.S.-Israeli relationship was "stronger than
ever."
Obama said the rift with Netanyahu, with whom he has already had
frosty ties, was not personal and that he would meet the Israeli
leader again if he wins Israel's March 17 election. In a nod to
Israeli concerns, he acknowledged that Iran's government had a
history of "anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements."
But he reiterated the administration's criticism of Netanyahu's
address and said the Israeli leader had been wrong before with his
opposition to a 2013 interim deal with Iran.
"Netanyahu made all sorts of claims. This was going to be a terrible
deal. This was going to result in Iran getting 50 billion dollars
worth of relief. Iran would not abide by the agreement. None of that
has come true.
"It has turned out that in fact, during this period we’ve seen Iran
not advance its program. In many ways, it’s rolled back elements of
its program."
Israeli officials traveling with Netanyahu had no immediate comment.
Obama said that a key doubt was whether Iran would agree to rigorous
inspection demands and the low levels of uranium enrichment
capability they would have to maintain.
"But if they do agree to it, it would be far more effective in
controlling their nuclear program than any military action we could
take, any military action Israel could take and far more effective
than sanctions will be," Obama said.
Turning to ties with Asia's largest economy, Obama sharply
criticized China's plans for new rules on U.S. tech companies,
urging Beijing to change the policy if it wants to do business with
the United States and saying he had raised it with President Xi
Jinping.
"This is something that I’ve raised directly with President Xi,"
Obama said. "We have made it very clear to them that this is
something they are going to have to change if they are to do
business with the United States."
On what could be another landmark foreign policy achievement, Obama
said he hoped the United States will open an embassy in Cuba by the
time of a Western Hemisphere summit in Panama in mid-April.
Washington and Havana announced on Dec. 17 that they planned to
restore diplomatic relations following 18 months of secret
face-to-face talks. "There's a lot of work that still has to be
done," Obama added.
(Editing by Stuart Grudgings and Howard Goller)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
