Washington, July 14
As Iran and six world
powers led by the US reached a historic accord to curb Tehran's nuclear
programme, President Barack Obama vowed to fight for it in a hostile
Republican-controlled Congress.
"This deal is not built on
trust," he said of the agreement between Iran and P5+1 - Britain, China,
France, Russia and the US plus Germany after marathon talks in the
Austrian capital of Vienna Tuesday.
"It is built on
verification," Obama said from the East Room of the White House in an
early morning appearance with Vice President Joe Biden by his side.
Asserting
that the agreement would deny Tehran a pathway to nuclear weapons and
require international inspections for compliance, Obama also vowed to
veto any congressional attempt to scuttle the agreement.
"I
believe it would be irresponsible to walk away from this deal," he said.
"I will veto any legislation that prevents the successful
implementation of this deal."
Obama asserted that his successors
in the White House "will be in a far stronger position" to restrain Iran
for decades to come than they would be without it.
Obama is expected to make calls to world leaders during the day.
The agreement met the goals he had in place throughout negotiations, said Obama praising the deal.
"Today
after two years of negotiation the United States together with the
international community has achieved something that decades of animosity
has not: a comprehensive long-term deal with Iran that will prevent it
from obtaining a nuclear weapon," he said.
The accord is expected
to face fierce opposition from Republicans in the US Congress, as well
as from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longstanding critic
of the negotiations.
"From the initial reports we can already
conclude that this agreement is a historic mistake for the world,"
Netanyahu was quoted as saying in a CNN report.
"Far-reaching
concessions have been made in all areas that were supposed to prevent
Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability."
US Congress has
60 days to review the agreement, giving its opponents plenty of time to
dig into the details and challenge the Obama administration's position.
US
Secretary of State John Kerry also praised the Iran nuclear deal saying
from Vienna that the agreement is a step toward peace and a step away
from conflict.
"This is the good deal that we have sought," Kerry
said at a press conference, adding that "contrary to the assertions of
some," this deal has "no sunset".
The agreement reached
between the six world powers and Iran to lift the decade-long sanctions
will prevent Tehran "from obtaining a nuclear weapon", US President
Barack Obama said on Tuesday.
Obama said the agreement met the
goals they had in place throughout their talks, but the deal was not
about trust rather about inspection.
"Today, after two years of
negotiation, the US together with the international community has
achieved something that decades of animosity has not: a comprehensive
long-term deal with Iran that will prevent it from obtaining a nuclear
weapon," CNN quoted Obama as saying from the White House.
"Every
pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off," Obama said, adding this
provides for extensive inspections. "This deal is not built on trust. It
is built on verification."
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
