Denying that there is any differences among world powers on the nuclear deal with Iran, US Secretary of State John Kerry today said they are "not in a rush" and no deal is better than a bad deal.
"We always said -- (US) President (Barack) Obama has been crystal clear -- don't rush; we're not in a rush; we need to get the right deal; no deal is better than a bad deal. And we are certainly adhering to that concept," Kerry told NBC's 'Meet the Press' Sunday talk show.
"A number of nations, not just the French but ourselves and others, wanted to make sure that we had the tough language necessary, the clarity in the language necessary to be absolutely certain that we were doing the job and not granting more or doing something sloppily that could wind up with a mistake," said the Secretary of State.
His comments came a day after the conclusion of the latest round of the talks between Iran and the 'P5+1' group that include the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.
"This is serious business. And I think every country came there -- this is the first time that the P-5 had come together with this kind of a serious set of possible options in front of it with a new Iranian government," said the Secretary of State.
"It is not a partial deal," Kerry said giving inkling into the kind of negotiations going on with Iran now.
"Let me make that crystal clear... It is a first step in an effort that will lock the programme in where it is today, in fact, set it back, while one negotiates the full deal. There will not be a relaxation of the pressure," he said.
"Nobody has talked about getting rid of the current architecture of sanctions. The pressure will remain. There will be, hopefully, if this is arrived at, a means of absolutely guaranteeing that while the negotiation on the real endgame takes place, Iran's programme is not going to continue, is not going to grow.
"It seems to me that Israel is far safer if you make certain that Iran cannot continue the programme. Now, every day that we don't have it, they're continuing it," Kerry said.
"I think the American people and most people in the world want the president of the United States, with the awesome power that we have, to exhaust all the diplomatic remedies before we resort to the use of military force, if we have to. That option is not off the table," the Secretary of State said.
Kerry said the pressure on Iran exists today, which is why they're willing to negotiate.
"You have to act in some good faith in an effort to be able to move towards the goal you want to achieve," he said.
"The President has made it clear he will not reduce or change the overall core architecture of the oil sanctions, banking sanctions. Iran will still be under enormous pressure, precisely to complete the task.
"So I think there's a lot of hype and an awful lot of speculation about what is going on here, when all that is happening is an effort, through the sanctions Congress put in place to get negotiations, when those negotiations hopefully produce an actual result. That's what we want to have happen," Kerry said.
