Obama Reiterates Defense of Nuclear Deal: Sanctions Will Be Reinstated Immediately if Iran Violates Agreement

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, has once again defended the nuclear agreement with Iran against criticisms. According to AFP, Mr. Obama stated in his weekly address on Saturday, July 18, that without this agreement, 'we would be facing the risk of another war in the most chaotic region of the world.' The U.S. President emphasized the limitations imposed on Iran's nuclear program under the comprehensive agreement, adding, 'This agreement actually moves Iran much further away from {building} a bomb. And it will permanently prohibit Iran from having a nuclear weapon.' Barack Obama stated that based on this agreement, 'we will have unprecedented 24/7 monitoring of key Iranian nuclear facilities' and once again threatened that if the Islamic Republic does not comply with this agreement, 'the sanctions that crippled the Iranian economy and made this agreement possible will snap back into place quickly.' Barack Obama: 'This agreement will make America and the world safer.' The U.S. President's warning came on a day when in Tehran, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, emphasized that there is both a possibility of the nuclear agreement being ratified in the Islamic Republic and a possibility of it not being ratified. Mr. Khamenei stated that there is 'a legal path that has been foreseen for the ratification of this text that must be followed.' The leader of the Islamic Republic also stressed that the agreement between Iran and the 5+1 group 'whether ratified or not,' does not allow 'anyone to exploit it' or 'violate the fundamental principles of the Islamic system.' This agreement has also faced strong opposition among U.S. congressional representatives, although some Democratic representatives have expressed their support for it. In his weekly address, the U.S. President added that he is not afraid of the opponents of this agreement and welcomes questions about it.