Obama: Iran breakthrough will make 'our world safer' - latimes

President Obama said Thursday that the tentative agreement to contain Iran’s nuclear weapons program is “a good deal,” arguing that it is the best option for heading off another war in the Middle East or a nuclear arms race in the region.

In an afternoon announcement in the White House Rose Garden, Obama said the outlined agreement would “cut off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon.”

“If this framework leads to a final, comprehensive deal, it will make our country, our allies, and our world safer,” Obama said. “This has been a long time coming.”

The president’s remarks followed announcements by foreign ministers in Switzerland that the ongoing talks had finally produced “the key parameters” of a long-sought deal to ease economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its ability to build a nuclear weapon. The breakthrough paves the way for three more months of discussions among Iran and six world powers, including the U.S., to work out the final agreement.

“It is a good deal, a deal that meets our core objectives,” Obama said.

One part of the deal, international inspections that Obama called “unprecedented” in their intrusiveness, means Iran will have no way of hiding any nuclear activity that falls outside the parameters of the agreement, the president said.

“If Iran cheats, the world will know it,” he said. “If we see something suspicious, we will inspect it.”  Read More
Obama: Iran breakthrough will make 'our world safer'Document: White House fact sheet on Iran nuclear deal