WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Obama said the international community is "not going to just wait indefinitely and allow for the development of a nuclear weapon" by Iran.
Speaking at a news conference in Italy on Friday at the conclusion of the G-8 summit, Obama said that the leaders of the eight economic powers agreeed to "re-evaluate Iran’s posture towards negotiating the cessation of a nuclear weapons policy" at the G-20 meeting in September, specifically noting that the agreement "provides a timeframe" for Iran.
"The international community has said, here’s a door you can walk through that allows you to lessen tensions and more fully join the international community," Obama said. "If Iran chooses not to walk through that door, then you have on record the G-8, to begin with, but I think potentially a lot of other countries that are going to say we need to take further steps."
He added, "My hope is that the Iranian leadership will look at the statement coming out of the G-8 and recognize that world opinion is clear."
Obama said media reports that the U.S. failed to get other nations to sign on to increased sanctions on Iran were "not accurate."
"What we wanted was exactly what we got, which is a statement of unity and strong condemnation about the appalling treatment of peaceful protesters post-election in Iran, as well as some behavior that just violates basic international norms: storming of embassies, arresting embassy personnel, restrictions on journalists," Obama said.
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