Barack Obama
US President Barack Obama says thwarting Iran's nuclear program is among one of his "highest priorities", warning that the US will pursue "aggressive sanctions" against the country.
"It is one of our highest priorities to make sure that Iran doesn't possess a nuclear weapon," the US president told Fox News on Wednesday.
"That is why I have worked so hard to mobilize the international community successfully, to isolate Iran," he added.
The remarks come as the US has embarked on a campaign to slap fresh sanctions against Tehran over its uranium enrichment program.
Meanwhile, Russia and China, two veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, have voiced their reluctance to back new sanctions against Iran and continue to call for a diplomatic solution to the country's nuclear issue.
President Obama went on to describe Iran's nuclear issue as "a hard problem" that needs to be solved, arguing that "if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, then you can potentially see a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East."
The US president's comments come as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirms that the nuclear watchdog's monitors and surveillance equipment at Iran's nuclear facilities have never detected any activity linking the Iranian program to a military one, adding that there exists no shred of evidence that Iran is building a clandestine facility to produce the highly enriched uranium needed for making a bomb.
Press TV
Commentary