“America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal,” Obama said in his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the “option” of a military strike based on the allegation that Iran’s nuclear program may consist of a covert military aspect.
Iran has categorically refuted the US-led allegations regarding its nuclear program, saying that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
The US president, however, pointed to the viability of a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue.
“But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations,” he added.
On December 31, 2011, President Obama signed into law fresh economic sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in an apparent bid to punish foreign companies and banks that do business with the Iranian financial institution.
The bill requires foreign financial firms to make a choice between doing business with the CBI and oil sector or with the US financial sector.
The US sanctions, as well as unilateral embargoes imposed on Iran’s energy and financial sectors by Britain and Canada, came after the IAEA issued a report on the Iranian nuclear program in early November 2011, accusing Tehran of seeking to weaponize its nuclear technology.
In his Tuesday speech to US Congress, Obama claimed Iran is more isolated than ever before and that the country is facing “crippling” sanctions.
He also pointed out that as long as the Iranian officials “shirk their responsibilities, this pressure will not relent.”
Obama’s remarks come after the European Union foreign ministers reached an agreement in Brussels on January 23 to impose sanctions on oil imports from Iran over the country’s nuclear program as of July 1.
The sanctions involve an immediate ban on all new oil contracts with the Islamic Republic and a freeze on the assets of the CBI within the EU.
On Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced the EU for adopting “imprudent and unjustifiable” decisions on Tehran, saying an embargo on Iran’s oil by the 27-member block will have adverse consequences for the Europeans.
