America
Obama goes all out to sell Iran n-deal
By
Arun KumarWashington, April 4
After reaching what he
described as a "historic understanding" with Iran to prevent it from
obtaining a nuclear weapon, US President Barack Obama is making an
all-out bid to sell the deal at home and abroad.
In calls on
Friday to leaders of the Republican-controlled Congress as also allies
abroad, Obama and his men stressed that "nothing is agreed until
everything is agreed. And if there is backsliding, there will be no
deal".
The next three months will be used to finalise the
technical details for "a lasting, comprehensive solution that verifiably
ensures the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme", he said.
In
his weekly address to the American public on Saturday too, Obama
stressed he expected a robust debate at home over the framework of a
nuclear deal with Iran reached on Thursday.
The deal, he claimed,
was "both comprehensive and long term" and "meets our core objectives
of cutting off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear
weapon".
He echoed his belief that a diplomatic resolution is by
far the best option, and promised to continue to fully brief Congress
and the American people on the substance and progress of the
negotiations in the months to come.
Obama said there were really
three options for dealing with Iran's nuclear programme: bombing Iran's
nuclear facilities; abandoning negotiations and hoping for the best
with sanctions; or a robust and verifiable deal.
It was his firm
belief, Obama said, "that the diplomatic option -- a comprehensive,
long-term deal like this -- is by far the best option. For the United
States. For our allies. And for the world".
Obama on Thursday
night called a sceptical Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to
tell him that the deal represented significant progress toward a
solution that prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and
emphasised US commitment to Israel.
The Israeli leader, however, insisted that the current framework would threaten the survival of Israel.
He also suggested the deal would legitimise Iran's nuclear programme and not block its path to a bomb, but instead pave its way.
Obama
on Friday spoke with King Hamad al Khalifa of Bahrain, Amir Sabah al
Sabah of Kuwait, Amir Tamim al Thani of Qatar and Crown Prince Mohammed
al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates to share details of the deal.
He also invited the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council to join him at Camp David this spring for further consultations.
Meanwhile,
White House spokesperson Josh Earnest told CNN on Friday that "in the
last 24 hours, everybody from the President to the White House chief of
staff, to officials at the Department of State and the Department of
Defence" had reached out to members of Congress to explain the deal.
Obama
himself spoke with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and planned to
talk to Republican majority and Democratic minority leaders in the
House and the Senate.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is
set to vote on April 14 on a bill put forward by Republican Senator Bob
Corker requiring a 60-day congressional review of any nuclear deal.
The White House has emphasised that Congress has the final say on lifting economic sanctions and should play an oversight role.
But
White House officials have also warned that Congressional action
forcing the US to walk away from the deal would leave Iran in an even
stronger position, with very little limiting their nuclear programme.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])