Obama Defends Iran Deal ahead of Congress Battle

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama vigorously defended the nuclear deal with Iran Wednesday, casting the historic accord as the only possible way to avert a war with Iran and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

A day after Washington, Tehran and world powers announced the deal, Obama said the United States faces a "fundamental choice" - whether or not to embrace the opportunity to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue peacefully.

His remarks in a White House news conference appeared aimed squarely at Congress, where lawmakers are discussing legislation to try to stop the deal's implementation.

"I expect the debate to be robust, and that's how it should be," Obama said, imploring skeptical lawmakers to "remember the alternative."

Obama, taking questions from reporters in the East Room for more than one hour, said without a deal the international economic sanctions that brought Iran to the negotiating table would unravel, and the world community would be unable to put the sanctions regime together.

"Without a deal, we risk even more war in the Middle East, and other countries in the Middle East would feel compelled to develop their own nuclear weapons," Obama said, adding that such a chain of events would risk a nuclear arms race "in the most dangerous region in the world."

Vice President Joe Biden spent the morning in Congress briefing Democrats, and told reporters he was confident that lawmakers would get behind the deal.

Obama said the US would keep trying to gain Tehran's cooperation on other security issues, but acknowledged the Islamic Republic might not change its behavior. "We're not betting on it," he said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team