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Obama presses case for Iran nuclear deal in weekly address

Saturday, April 04, 2015 - 01:26

U.S. President Barack Obama assures Americans that a framework nuclear pact with Iran is a ''good deal'' as he seeks public support for a diplomatic breakthrough many in Congress oppose. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

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ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) STORY: U.S. President Barack Obama assured Americans on Saturday (April 4) that a newly negotiated framework for a nuclear pact with Iran was a "good deal" as he sought public support for a diplomatic breakthrough that many in Congress oppose. A day after placing calls to top U.S. lawmakers to urge support for the agreement, Obama pressed his case that the deal would ensure Washington's longtime foe would not be able to build a nuclear weapon. "This framework is the result of tough, principled diplomacy. It's a good deal -- a deal that meets our core objectives, including strict limitations on Iran's program and cutting off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address, broadcast on Saturday. "This deal denies Iran the plutonium necessary to build a bomb. It shuts down Iran's path to a bomb using enriched uranium. Iran has agreed that it will not stockpile the materials needed to build a weapon," Obama said. "Moreover, international inspectors will have unprecedented access to Iran's nuclear program because Iran will face more inspections than any other country in the world. If Iran cheats, the world will know it. If we see something suspicious, we will inspect it. So this deal is not based on trust, it's based on unprecedented verification," he continued. While major world powers and Iran made genuine progress in reaching a broad agreement in Switzerland on Thursday (April 2), the real test looms at the end of June when the deal must be finalized. The marathon talks in Lausanne had been finely balanced between success and collapse, and Obama himself cautioned that "success is not guaranteed" despite the agreement. "As I said this week, many key details will need to be finalized over the next three months, and nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed. And if there is backsliding, there will be no deal," Obama said.