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The US is prepared to walk away from nuclear talks with Iran if the government in Tehran doesn't meet terms limiting its nuclear capabilities and submits to verification, President Barack Obama said.
Iran has so far complied with an interim agreement negotiated with the US and other world powers and there's little to lose by trying to achieve a deal, Obama said in an interview with CBS News interview broadcast Sunday.
"If we have unprecedented transparency in that system, if we are able to verify that in fact they are not developing weapons systems, then there's a deal to be had," Obama said. "But that's going to require them to accept the kind of verification and constraints on their program that so far, at least, they have not been willing to say yes to."
Obama's commitment to the negotiations has tested ties with Israel, a mainstay US ally in the West Asia. Obama argues that a nuclear agreement with Iran would improve security in the region, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that a deal would bring Iran a step closer to acquiring nuclear weapons. Talks are scheduled to resume in a week with a deadline of the end of the month to agree on a political framework. US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday at a news conference in Paris that it's up to Iran to complete a deal.
