President Obama said Tuesday that Iran’s willingness to submit to tough international inspections “will be the test” of whether the U.S. and other world powers reach a nuclear deal with Tehran.
“If they cannot, that’s going to be a problem,” Mr. Obama said at a White House press conference. “I will walk away from the negotiations if in fact it’s a bad deal.”
The negotiating parties announced Tuesday that they are extending the talks until July 7 in hopes of reaching an agreement that curbs Iran’s nuclear ambitions in return for lifting economic sanctions.
Mr. Obama said “ultimately it’s going to be up to the Iranians” to determine whether they can agree to verifiable, thorough inspections.
“That can’t simply be a declaration by Iran,” he said. “It’s going to have to be a serious, rigorous vertification” regimen.
“That’s going to be the test of whether we get a deal,” he said.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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