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Barack Obama vows to use all options to stop Iran's bid for nuke weapon
25 Jan 2012 at 07:27hrs | Views
U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday night to use all options possible in stopping Iran's bid for a nuclear weapon, but did not rule out a peaceful resolution.
"Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal," the president said in his annual State of the Union address to the Congress.
"But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations," he said.
A day earlier, the United States and the European Union (EU) expanded their sanctions against Iran in their efforts to press the Islamic republic to abandon its attempt to obtain nuclear bombs.
The United States targeted Bank Tejarat, Iran's third largest, for sanctions, bringing 23 Iranian-linked financial institutions, including all of the country's largest state-owned banks, under U.S. sanctions for their involvement in the republic's "illicit activities".
The EU foreign ministers agreed to ban imports of Iran's oil and impose sanctions on the country's central bank, the toughest measures ever applied on the republic over its controversial nuclear program.
"Through the power of our diplomacy, a world that was once divided about how to deal with Iran's nuclear program now stands as one," Obama said, adding the Iranian government is "more isolated than ever before" with crippling sanctions against its leaders.
"And as long as they shirk their responsibilities, this pressure will not relent," he vowed.
The United States and its allies are pressuring Iran to engage seriously in talks over its nuclear program, which the West says is a cover for making nuclear weapons, a claim rejected categorically by Iran.
"Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal," the president said in his annual State of the Union address to the Congress.
"But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations," he said.
A day earlier, the United States and the European Union (EU) expanded their sanctions against Iran in their efforts to press the Islamic republic to abandon its attempt to obtain nuclear bombs.
The EU foreign ministers agreed to ban imports of Iran's oil and impose sanctions on the country's central bank, the toughest measures ever applied on the republic over its controversial nuclear program.
"Through the power of our diplomacy, a world that was once divided about how to deal with Iran's nuclear program now stands as one," Obama said, adding the Iranian government is "more isolated than ever before" with crippling sanctions against its leaders.
"And as long as they shirk their responsibilities, this pressure will not relent," he vowed.
The United States and its allies are pressuring Iran to engage seriously in talks over its nuclear program, which the West says is a cover for making nuclear weapons, a claim rejected categorically by Iran.
Source - Xinhau
