Obama: The US Will Continue to Pressure Iran

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, reacted on Friday, October 16, to Iran's missile test, stating that despite the nuclear agreement between six world powers and Iran, Washington will continue to exert pressure on Tehran through the international community. He also warned that Iran's 'bad' behavior in the region and the world will have consequences for the country. According to the Associated Press, Obama, speaking at a press conference, said regarding Iran's recent missile test that the nuclear agreement is meant to solve a specific issue: ensuring that the country does not acquire nuclear weapons, and that this agreement is the best solution to this issue. He added that this agreement does not fully resolve a wide range of significant issues over which we have disagreements. The US President emphasized, 'We must continue to apply pressure on them (Iran) through the international community.' Obama stressed that through bilateral channels and negotiations, we will remind Iranian officials that 'bad behavior in the region and the world will have costs.' On October 10, Iran announced that it successfully conducted a test of the ballistic missile 'Emad,' which reportedly has a range of 1,700 kilometers. Meanwhile, US officials claim that the missile recently tested by Iran is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and constitutes a 'clear violation' of a UN resolution. Samantha Power, the US representative to the UN, stated that after reviewing the obtained information, the United States confirms that the ballistic missile tested by Iran on October 10 'essentially has the capability to carry a nuclear warhead.' According to the Associated Press, she added that this test violates a Security Council resolution that prohibits such actions. However, Abbas Araqchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, denied this, stating that 'none of Iran's missiles, whether ballistic or otherwise, are designed to carry nuclear warheads, and therefore their production and testing do not violate Resolution 2231.' In another part of his press conference, the US President referred to the strategy of Iran and Russia in the Syrian civil war, asserting that these actions will not be effective. Obama stated: 'Regarding their actions in Syria, as I said before, they have only intensified what they have been doing for the past five years.' He added: 'This is a sign that their initial premise and theory for how to resolve the Syrian issue has not worked and will not work. Their understanding of the situation was that if they provided weapons and money to Bashar al-Assad's regime, he would be able to suppress the opposition. However, when they saw that this approach was not effective, they sent Hezbollah and their military advisors into the field, but this was also not effective. Now the Russians have entered the field themselves, and Iran will send more forces to Syria, but this strategy will also not be effective, as they are supporting a regime that has lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the majority of the people in this country.' In the latest development in Syria, the Syrian army, with the support of Hezbollah militants and Russian airstrikes, began a ground attack in the south of Aleppo city on Friday. According to international media, the Syrian army is increasing its pressure on armed opponents in several fronts near the main cities of the country to expand its control over western regions.