Obama Calls Nuclear Deal with Iran a ‘Once in a Lifetime Opportunity’
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Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — President Obama is standing by last week’s framework agreement with Iran over its nuclear weapons.
Speaking to The New York Times on Sunday, he called the deal a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“This is our best bet by far to make sure Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon,” Obama told the newspaper.
The president did acknowledge, however, that there are hurdles to jump.
“There is no doubt that given the history between our two countries that there is deep mistrust that is not going to fade away immediately,” he said.
This week, Obama is working to sell the deal, calling lawmakers in both parties to get them to back the framework agreement. The president’s push comes as he receives criticism from Capitol Hill and abroad.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the agreement is a bad deal, and warned that Iran would use relief from sanctions to bolster its military operation. He is asking the U.S. to come up with a better solution.
In his interview with the Times, Obama recognized that Israel is concerned about security and said he would consider it a “fundamental failure” of his presidency “if, on my watch, or as a consequence of work that I had done, Israel was rendered more vulnerable.”
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