7/29/2019 Obama at UNGA

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Obama directs Kerry to pursue Iran nuclear deal

President Barack Obama addresses the UN General Assembly Sept.24 in New York.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly,President Barack Obama announced the U.S will

pursue a nuclear pact with long-estranged Iran.

UNITED NATIONS President Barack Obama on Tuesday welcomed the new Iranian government's pursuit of a "more moderate course," saying it should offer the basis for a breakthrough on

Iran's nuclear impasse with the United Nations and the U.S. He signaled a willingness todirectly engage with Iran's leaders, tasking Secretary of State John Kerry with pursuingdiplomacy with Tehran. "The roadblocks may prove to be too great, but I firmly believe thediplomatic path must be tested," Obama said during an address to the U.N. General Assembly.

Obama also issued a stern message to the international body itself, saying its ability to meet the test of the t imes is being challenged by the dispute over what to do about Syria's

chemical weapons. He called on the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution that would enforce consequences on Syrian President Bashar Assad if he fails to follow a U.S.-Russiandeal to turn his chemical weapon stockpiles over to the international community.

As the General Assembly meetings opened, the situation in Syria was overshadowed by a flurryof friendly gestures between the U.S. and Iran's new government. Obama said recent statements

by Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, a moderate cleric elected in June, should offer the basisfor a meaningful agreement on Iran's disputed nuclear program. But Obama, reflecting theskepticism of many in the U.S. and around the world, also said Rouhani's "conciliatory wordswill have to be matched by actions that are transparent and verifiable."

Obama said he was asking Kerry to pursue diplomatic progress with Iran, in coordination withfive other world powers. Kerry will join representatives from those nations Thursday in a

meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif. It's unclear whether Kerry and Zarif will meet one-on-one on the sidelines of that meeting. And Obama also offered no hintsof whether he will meet Tuesday with Rouhani. Even a brief handshake would be significant,

marking the first such encounter between U.S. and Iranian leaders in 36 years.

The president said the U.N. Security council must agree to a resolution on Syrian chemicalweapons that includes consequences for the regime of President Bashar Assad if he doesn't

meet demands to dismantle his chemical stockpile. Obama said failure to include suchconsequences would mean the international body is unable to enforce such requirements. Obamasaid it would be "an insult to human reason and the legitimacy" of the U.N. to suggest thatthe Assad regime did not carry out a chemical attack on civilians last month.

The time is ripe to press for a resolution of the long conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis, Obama said, and all sides must be willing to take risks in order to achieve

Mideast peace.

Israel and its friends must be willing to accept a Palestinian state, he said, and Arabstates must recognize that stability can only be achieved through a two-state solution with asecure Israel.

Talks on Mideast peace resumed this summer after months of prodding by Secretary of StateJohn Kerry. But the prospect of a resolution on issues that have long had the Israelis and Palestinians at odds remain slim.