US President Barack Obama said that if Congress sends a new sanctions bill against Iran ‘’I will veto it,’ in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday.
After stressing that ‘’American diplomacy, backed by pressure, halted the progress of Iran's nuclear program – and rolled parts of that program back – for the very first time in a decade,’’ the president said that ‘’Iran has begun to eliminate its stockpile of higher levels of enriched uranium’’ and that ‘’it is not installing advanced centrifuges.’’
‘’Unprecedented inspections help the world verify, every day, that Iran is not building a bomb. And with our allies and partners, we're engaged in negotiations to see if we can peacefully achieve a goal we all share: preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.’’
He added: ‘’These negotiations will be difficult. They may not succeed. These negotiations will be difficult. They may not succeed. We are clear-eyed about Iran's support for terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, which threaten our allies; and the mistrust between our nations cannot be wished away. But these negotiations do not rely on trust; any long-term deal we agree to must be based on verifiable action that convinces us and the international community that Iran is not building a nuclear bomb.’’
But he warned: ‘’Let me be clear: if this Congress sends me a new sanctions bill now that threatens to derail these talks, I will veto it.’’
‘’We must give diplomacy a chance to succeed. 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,’’ Obama said.
Last November, the world powers (US, Russia,China, UK, France and Germany) and Iran struck a deal that foresees a slowing of Iranian uranium enrichment program, increased international inspections. In exchange, the P5+1 agreed to ease international sanctions against Iran's crippled economy for a six-month period while negotiators try to broker a final settlement.
But critics in Congress want sanctions to remain in place, claiming that their harsh economic impact is what forced Iran to the negotiating table in the first place.
"The American people — Democrats and Republicans alike — overwhelmingly want Iran held accountable during any negotiations," Sen. Mark Kirk, a Republian from Illinois said after Obama concluded his speech.
In his address, the US President also briefly alluded to current US-sponsored talks between Israel and the Palestinians. He said: ''As we speak, American diplomacy is supporting Israelis and Palestinians as they engage in difficult but necessary talks to end the conflict there; to achieve dignity and an independent state for Palestinians, and lasting peace and security for the State of Israel – a Jewish state that knows America will always be at their side.''