NS&D Monitor
1/31/2014

In a stern warning to Congress against additional Iran sanctions, President Obama drew on the Administration’s arms control and nuclear security record to bolster the case for American diplomacy with Iran in his State of the Union address this week. “American diplomacy has rallied more than fifty countries to prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands,” he said, referencing the Nuclear Security Summit he established in 2010, “and allowed us to reduce our own reliance on Cold War stockpiles.” He promised to veto any new Iran sanctions bill passed by Congress, allowing time for a deal with Iran on its nuclear program to be negotiated. “For the sake of our national security, we must give diplomacy a chance to succeed,” Obama said. “If Iran’s leaders do not seize this opportunity, then I will be the first to call for more sanctions, and stand ready to exercise all options to make sure Iran does not build a nuclear weapon. But if Iran’s leaders do seize the chance, then Iran could take an important step to rejoin the community of nations, and we will have resolved one of the leading security challenges of our time without the risks of war.”