Obama Urges Congress to Support Iranian Nuclear Deal - nytimes

President Obama said that a failure to put the deal into effect would increase the likelihood of war in the Middle East and accelerate a nuclear arms race.

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday urged lawmakers to support the nuclear deal reached with Iran, saying that failure to put it into effect would increase the likelihood of war in the Middle East and accelerate a nuclear arms race in the region that would threaten the safety of the United States.

“That’s the choice that we face,” Mr. Obama said in opening comments at a news conference in the East Room of the White House. “If we don’t choose wisely, I believe future generations will judge us harshly, for letting this moment slip away.”

Just one day after announcing the culmination of his yearslong effort to use diplomacy to restrain Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Mr. Obama said he expected a “robust debate” in Congress and among the American people. But he said he saw no alternative to the deal that would prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

“Without a deal, we risk even more war in the Middle East,” he said, adding that other countries in the region would feel compelled to pursue their own nuclear weapons programs. “This deal is our best means of assuring that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon,” he said. “From the start, that has been my No. 1 priority.” - Read More at NYT

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