WASHINGTON — Vigorously challenging his critics, President Barack Obama launched an aggressive and detailed defense of a landmark Iranian nuclear accord Wednesday, rejecting the idea that it leaves Tehran on the brink of a bomb and arguing the only alternative to the diplomatic deal is war.
The president spoke one day after Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers finalized a historic, yearslong agreement to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief. Opposition to the deal has been fierce, both in Washington and Israel. Sunni Arab rivals of Shiite Iran also express concerns.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, perhaps the fiercest critic of Obama’s overtures to Iran, showed no sign he could be persuaded to even tolerate the agreement. In remarks to Israel’s parliament, Netanyahu said he was not bound by the terms of the deal and could still take military action against Iran.
“We will reserve our right to defend ourselves against all of our enemies,” said Netanyahu, who sees Iran’s suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapon as a threat to Israel’s existence.
In Congress, resistance comes not only from Republicans, but also Obama’s own Democratic Party. Vice President Joe Biden spent the morning on Capitol Hill meeting privately with House Democrats, and planned to return Thursday to make a similar pitch to Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The president said he welcomed a “robust” debate with Congress, but showed little patience for what he cast as politically motivated opposition. Lawmakers can’t block the nuclear deal, but they can try to undermine it by insisting U.S. sanctions stay in place.
In Tehran, Iranians took to the streets to celebrate the accord, and even Iran’s hard-liners offered only mild criticism — a far cry from the outspoken opposition that the White House had feared.
The nuclear accord has become a centerpiece of Obama’s foreign policy, a high-stakes gamble that diplomatic engagement with a longtime American foe could resolve one of the world’s most pressing security challenges. The importance of the deal to Obama was evident Wednesday, both in his detailed knowledge of its technical provisions and his insistence that no critique go unanswered.
An hour into the East Room news conference, Obama asked if reporters had other questions about Iran — a highly unusual inquiry from a president who is rarely so freewheeling in his exchanges with the press. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, saying he had “made notes” about the main criticisms of the deal and wanted to ensure each had been addressed.
The accord requires Iran to dismantle key elements of its nuclear program, lower its uranium enrichment levels, and give up thousands of centrifuges. International inspectors will have access to Iran’s declared nuclear facilities, but must request visits to Iran’s military sites, access that isn’t guaranteed. If Iran abides by the parameters, it will receive billions of dollars in relief from crippling international sanctions that have badly damaged the country’s economy.
The deal does nothing to address Iran’s broader support for terrorism in the Middle East or its detention of several American citizens, though some U.S. officials hold out hope it could eventually lead Tehran to reassess its role in the world.
The president also sharply rebuffed a suggestion that he was content to let American detainees languish in Iran while he celebrated a deal. “That’s nonsense,” he said, adding that Iran would have taken advantage of any U.S. effort to link the nuclear accord to the release of U.S. citizens.
To those who argue sanctions relief will leave Iran flush with cash to fund terrorism, Obama said Tehran is already backing Hezbollah and other groups on the cheap. He noted that the Iranian government is under pressure from citizens to use any influx of international funds to improve the country’s struggling economy.
Obama insisted sanctions on Iran could be “snapped back” in place if Iran cheats on the deal, even if Russia and China object. He defended the 24-day window Iran would have before international inspectors gain access to suspicious sites, saying nuclear material “leaves a trace” and suggesting the U.S. has other means of monitoring facilities. And he shrugged off concerns that a United Nations arms embargo on Iran could be lifted in five years, saying the U.S. and its partners have others ways of preventing Iran from sending weapons to militant groups.
Taken together, Obama said, the deal marks a rare opportunity to cut off Iran’s pathways to a bomb and bolster the safety of the U.S. and the rest of the world.
“If we don’t choose wisely, I believe future generations will judge us harshly for letting this moment slip away,” he said.