Obama: Washington Will Continue Efforts for Nuclear Agreement with Iran

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, stated that Washington will continue to strive for a nuclear agreement with Iran in the coming months, but it remains unclear whether Iran will take advantage of the negotiation opportunity. According to Reuters, Mr. Obama met with King Abdullah of Jordan at the White House on Friday, December 5, and after the meeting announced that he had briefed the King on the nuclear negotiations with Iran. He emphasized that he assured the King of Jordan that if a bad and wrong agreement were to be reached, the U.S. would prefer no agreement at all; however, Washington will continue negotiations with the motivation of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The nuclear talks between Iran and world powers have recently been extended for another seven months. Both Iranian and U.S. officials have expressed optimism about reaching a nuclear agreement during this timeframe. For instance, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, assured that the nuclear negotiations are 'close to a successful conclusion.' On Friday, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, also emphasized that the nuclear disputes between Iran and world powers are resolvable and that if the negotiations have been prolonged, it is due to Western countries. However, Barack Obama stated, 'We still cannot say definitively whether Iran will take this opportunity or not, but we will continue our efforts in the coming months and will keep Jordan informed.' Jordan is considered a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, and Barack Obama praised the country for hosting Syrian refugees. Mr. Obama also promised King Abdullah that Washington would increase its aid to Jordan to one billion dollars a year.