In a major push for diplomacy, building on the recent overtures by Iran’s new leader Hassan Rouhani, US President Barack Obama on Tuesday signalled his readiness to open a dialogue in the hope of achieving a breakthrough on the vexed Iran nuclear issue.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly session, Obama announced that his Secretary of State John Kerry would pursue the diplomatic course even while making it clear that Tehran must match its conciliatory words with actions that are “transparent and verifiable”.
In his address, Obama also dwelt on the diplomatic pursuit in Syria after putting on hold his decision to launch a military strike over the Assad regime’s alleged use of chemical weapons. Obama said it is now for the UN Security Council to come up with a strong resolution to verify that the Assad regime was keeping its commitments.
Welcoming the recent declarations by Iran’s supreme leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei and President Rouhani that their country would never develop a nuclear weapon, Obama spoke of the basis for a meaningful agreement.
“We should be able to achieve a resolution that respects the rights of the Iranian people, while giving the world confidence that the Iranian program is peaceful,” he said. While stating the roadblocks may prove to be too great, Obama said that he was still of the firm believe that the diplomatic path must be tested.
“Given President Rouhani’s stated commitment to reach an agreement, I am directing John Kerry to pursue this effort with the Iranian Government, in close coordination with the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China,” he said.
“Iran’s genuine commitment to go down a different path will be good for the region and the world, and will help the Iranian people meet their extraordinary potential,” he said, while stressing that status quo will only deepen the country’s isolation. Obama said the US was encouraged that President Rouhani received from the Iranian people a mandate to pursue a more moderate course.
He said that in letters earlier to Khamenei and more recently to Rouhani, he had made clear that America preferred to resolve its concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme peacefully, but it was determined to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
The State Department put out a statement, expressing the hope that the new Iranian Government would engage substantively with the international community for a diplomatic and cooperate fully with the IAEA in its investigation.
Kerry welcomes his Iranian counterpart’s “commitment to a substantive response and to his agreement to meeting in the short term with permanent UN Security Council members and Germany coordinated by EU High Representative Ashton to discuss the nuclear programme.”