A video of Obama was released in which he has said, “Should Iran reverse its course toward further isolation and prove its pursuit of nuclear power to be peace-based, the possibility lies ahead that the nation will once again be positioned to see the benefits of greater trade and ties with other nations, including the United States.”
The president also offered best wishes to the Iranian people ahead of Nowruz this week.
The duration of the statement of the president was four minutes and it featured Persian subtitles and in this he mentioned that Iran’s leaders say that their nuclear program is for medical research and electricity.
For the first foreign trip of his second term, the president will land in Israel on Wednesday. An alarm has been sounded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Iran’s nuclear capabilities and threatened military intervention. President is scheduled to meet him as well. Though the United States has long called for a diplomatic resolution to Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon, the president and his administration have said all options, including military force, are on the table should they be necessary.
Obama said he has had no illusions about the difficulty of overcoming decades of mistrust, and conceded any serious resolution will require a sustained effort. Iran will be atop the president’s agenda in his meetings Wednesday.