Obama: ‘Iran Has Fulfilled Key Commitments Under the Nuclear Deal’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:

"[Engaging directly with the Iranian government] on a sustained basis for the first time in decades has created a unique opportunity, a window, to try to resolve important issues. Today, I can report progress on a number of fronts. First, yesterday, marked a milestone in preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran has fulfilled key commitments under the nuclear deal. I want to explain why this is important. Over more than a decade Iran moved ahead with its program and before the deal it has installed nearly 20,000 centrifuges that could enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb. Today, Iran has removed two-thirds of those machines. Before the deal, Iran was increasing stockpile of enriched uranium. Enough for up to ten nuclear bombs. Today, more than 98% of that stockpile has been shipped out of Iran. Meaning Iran doesn't have enough material for even one bomb.

Before, Iran was nearly completion of a reactor capable of plutonium for a bomb. Today it's been poured out and filled with concrete so it cannot be used again. Before the deal, the world has relatively little visibility into Iran's nuclear program. Today inspectors are on the ground and the Iran is being dealing with monitors. Inspectors will monitor the facility 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For decades to come, inspectors will have access to Iran's entire nuclear supply chain. In other words, if Iran tries to cheat, if they try to build a bomb covertly, we will catch them. The bottom line is this, where as Iran was expanding its nuclear program, we have now cut off every single path that Iran could have used to build a bomb."