Obama Says US-Iran Deal Will Only Offer Temporary Relief; It May Still Make Nuclear Weapon After 13 Years
President Barack Obama has stated that the framework nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers will only delay that country's plan to make a nuclear weapon and will not shut down its nuclear programme perpetually. Mr Obama explained that the buffer period proposed in the deal would shrink after 13 years, and after that the "inevitable" can happen.
The U.S President made this statement in an interview with media outlet NPR, which drew a strong reaction from Republican leader and U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, who said it justified the fears expressed by the critics about the futility of making a deal with Iran. He said the deal is a direct threat to peace and security of the region and the world. No one should believe that the proposed inspection and verification are bullet-proof. The media interview saw Mr Obama promoting the Iran deal and hitting out at critics who had alleged that the deal failed to eliminate the risk because it allows Iran to enrich uranium unhindered, reports Voice of America.
Temporary Relief
According to Mr Obama, the main gain of the deal is that it will cap Iran’s capabilities for a decade at 300 kilograms of fissile material, not enough to convert to a stockpile of weapons-grade material. This will extend Iran's "breakout time" to acquire sufficient material for making a weapon at least by a year, up from the estimated two or three months now.
Maybe, after a decade, some of these restrictions will phase out. So, in 13 to 15 years of the deal, Obama said, Iran could use advanced centrifuges that enrich uranium fairly rapidly. And at that point, the breakout times would have shrunk almost to zero. Mr Obama seems to be feeling confident because Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has vowed that Iran will honour its pledges as long as the other side too "honours its promises."
Re-imposing Sanctions
Mr Obama, whose tenure will end in another 20 months, said any of his successors would have the option to take action in case Iran tries to defy the deal to obtain a nuclear weapon. He said, the U.S is absolutely convinced that it can do it again. The president stated that the U.S. will also work to have a provision incorporated in the deal to invoke sanctions without a U.N. Security Council vote.
Meanwhile, a CNN report said President Obama has called some bitter critics of the deal with Iran, as "foolish", especially some presidential hopefuls, who have pledged to scrap the deal, if they are in the hot seat. In a reaction to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s threat to pull the U.S. out of a nuclear deal on day one of his presidency, Mr Obama said, “It would be a foolish approach to take, and, you know, perhaps Mr. Walker, after he's taken some time to bone up on foreign policy, will feel the same way.”
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