WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama, seeking to sell the Iran nuclear deal to skeptical U.S. lawmakers and the American public, insisted on Wednesday that the landmark agreement was the best way to avoid a nuclear arms race and more war in the Middle East.
Obama made his case in a nationally televised news conference responding to critics at home and abroad after Iran and six world powers sealed an accord in Vienna on Tuesday to restrict Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
"Without a deal," Obama said, "there would be no limits to Iran's nuclear program and Iran could move closer to a nuclear bomb ... Without a deal, we risk even more war in the Middle East."
The agreement is a political triumph for Obama, who has madeoutreach to America's enemies a hallmark of his presidency, but it is also seen as his biggest foreign policy gamble since taking office in 2009.
Reuters
