President Obama urged skeptical lawmakers Thursday to hold off on imposing new sanctions on Iran, saying if diplomacy fails to curb Tehran’s nuclear program, any punitive measures that are eased through negotiations could be “ramped back up.”
In his most direct appeal yet for more time to pursue diplomacy with Iran, Obama sought to assuage concerns in Congress and among including Israel and Saudi Arabia that his administration is giving away too much in talks between Tehran and six world powers.
Obama spoke a day after Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and other top officials warned senators that implementing new sanctions could scuttle the delicate negotiations due to resume in Geneva on Nov. 20. Some lawmakers said after the meetings they were not convinced.
“If we’re serious about pursuing diplomacy, then there’s no need for us to add new sanctions on top of the sanctions that are already very effective, and that brought them [the Iranians] to the table in the first place,” Obama told a White House news conference.
“Now, if it turns out they can’t deliver, they can’t come to the table in a serious way and get this issue resolved, the sanctions can be ramped back up . . . and we’ve got that option,” he said.
An initial agreement seemed close last week, when Kerry made an unexpected trip to the talks in Switzerland. But the negotiators failed to reach a deal last weekend and are returning for another round of talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Wednesday that a “bad deal” with Iran on its nuclear program could lead to war. His aides challenged US assertions that Iran was being offered only limited relief from sanctions.
Obama said that in return for Iran’s agreement in a “short-term, phase-one” deal to halt its nuclear advances, “We would provide very modest relief at the margins of the sanctions that we’ve set up.”
“We would leave in place the core sanctions that are most effective and have most impact on the Iranian economy, specifically oil sanctions and sanctions with respect to banks and financing,” he added.Post Wire Services