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Obama, Netanyahu clash over Iran nuclear talks
President Obama lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this weekend over Iran’s nuclear program after Netanyahu said that the international community was giving Iran a “freebie.”
Obama shot back that the his administration and the group of six world powers negotiating with Iran have not give anything away to Tehran in the talks.
“The notion that somehow we've given something away, or ‘a freebie,’ would indicate that Iran has gotten something,” Obama said at a press conference in Colombia on Sunday evening. “In fact, they've got some of the toughest sanctions that they're going to be facing coming up in just a few months if they don't take advantage of these talks. I hope they do.”
Obama said that the “clock is ticking,” but he still feels that a diplomatic solution is the way to resolve the conflict with Iran over its nuclear program.
On Saturday, Netanyahu said that the talks did not make any progress toward restricting Iran’s nuclear enrichment and gave Tehran time to continue its nuclear program unimpeded before the a second round of negotiations begins in May.
"My initial impression is that Iran has been given a freebie,” Netanyahu said in Jerusalem while meeting with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). “It has got five weeks to continue enrichment without any limitation, any inhibition.”
The tension between Obama and Netanyahu rose in recent months as Israeli has threatened military action against Iran to stop its nuclear program. Netanyahu has been skeptical of sanctions and said during a visit to Washington in March that sanctions have not worked so far, warning that time was running short before Israel had to act.
Obama has emphasized there’s still time for a diplomatic solution and has pressed Netanyahu not to attack Iran. Obama has said that all options for the United States remain on the table, including a military one.
“The best way to resolve this issue is diplomatically, and my belief that we still have a window in which to resolve this conflict diplomatically,” Obama said Sunday. “That window is closing, and Iran needs to take advantage of it. But it is absolutely the right thing to do.”
Talks between Iran and the P5+1 group — the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany — restarted in Istanbul on Saturday. European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton, who is heading up the talks for the P5+1 group, said the negotiations were “constructive,” although no real policy details were addressed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Salehi said his government is eager to find ways to ease the West’s concerns about its nuclear program, according to the semi-official FARS News Agency. Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, while the United States and its allies suspect Iran is seeking nuclear weapons.
The two sides have agreed to hold a second round of talks in Baghdad in May.
