Google – AFP, 24 November 2013
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US
President Barack Obama boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in
Maryland on November 24, 2013 en route to Seattle, Washington (AFP, Jewel
Samad)
|
Washington
— President Barack Obama called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on
Sunday to discuss an international nuclear deal with Iran that has threatened
to raise tensions between the close allies, the White House said.
Just hours
after the six world powers clinched the historic agreement with the Islamic
republic, Netanyahu lashed out at what he called a "historic mistake"
that left open Iran's ability to develop a nuclear arsenal.
But the
five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany --
known as the P5+1 -- involved in the talks hailed it as a key first step that
for now warded off the prospect of military escalation.
"The
two leaders reaffirmed their shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a
nuclear weapon," deputy White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters
aboard Air Force One As Obama headed to the US West Coast.
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Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
looks on during the weekly cabinet meeting
on
November 24, 2013 at his office in
Jerusalem (Pool/AFP, Abir Sultan)
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Obama
stressed that the P5+1 will seek to obtain a "lasting, peaceful and
comprehensive solution that would resolve the international community's
concerns regarding Iran?s nuclear program," according to Earnest.
Israel and
much of the West worry that Iran's nuclear program serves as a guise for a
weapons drive, while Tehran denies the claim and insists it is only for
civilian purposes.
Tehran has
a long history of belligerent statements towards the Jewish state, notably
under former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Israel has repeatedly warned
that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat, refusing to rule out a
preventative military strike on Iran's atomic infrastructure.
Earnest
said Obama and Netanyahu agreed to keep in "close contact" over the
deal.
"The
president underscored that the United States will remain firm in our commitment
to Israel, which has good reason to be skeptical about Iran?s intentions,"
he added.
Secretary
of State John Kerry has also defended the accord, saying the agreement would
blunt the threat and ultimately make the Jewish state more secure.
"You
can't always start where you want to wind up," he said.
Iran agreed
to curb its nuclear program for the next six months in exchange for limited
sanctions relief, in a preliminary accord meant to lay the foundations for a
comprehensive agreement later this year.
The deal
was reached in marathon talks in Geneva that ended Sunday before dawn after
protracted negotiations between Iran and the P5+1.
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Iranian FM Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd L) shakes hands with US Secretary of
State John Kerry, next to Chinese FM Wang Yi (far L) and French FM Laurent Fabius
after a statement on early November 24, 2013, in Geneva (AFP, Fabrice Coffrini)
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