Obama senses ‘urgency’ in Iran talks

President Obama said in an interview aired Sunday that there is a sense of “urgency” in securing a deal over Iran’s nuclear program, but vowed the U.S. would not accept a deal that allows Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Obama said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that there is “enormous suspicion between the Iranian regime and the world, not just the United States.”

“I would say that over the next month or so, we’re going to be able to determine whether or not their system is able to accept what would be an extraordinarily reasonable deal, if in fact, as they say, they are only interested in peaceful nuclear programs,” Obama said in an interview recorded Saturday following his remarks in Selma, Ala.

“And if we have unprecedented transparency in that system, if we are able to verify that in fact they are not developing weapons systems, then there’s a deal to be had, but that’s going to require them to accept the kind of verification and constraints on their program that so far, at least, they have not been willing to say ‘yes’ to,” Obama said.

A number of members of Congress have voiced their concerns over the Obama administration’s push to secure a preliminary deal with Iran by March 24, debate stoked last week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial address to Congress this week.

The Senate is weighing legislation giving them input on a deal, which Obama has vowed to veto.

“I think it is fair to say that there is an urgency because we now have been negotiating for well over a year and the good news is that during this period, Iran has abided by the terms of the agreement,” Obama told CBS.

“We’re not losing anything through these talks,” he said, adding that his administration would “absolutely” walk away if it cannot secure a deal.

“If we cannot verify that they are not going to obtain a nuclear weapon, that there’s a breakout period so that even if they cheated we would be able to have enough time to take action, if we don’t have that kind of deal, then we’re not going to take it,” he said.