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    March 06, 2012

Obama Skeptical on Quick Iran Breakthrough

   VOA News
   President Barack Obama gestures during a news conference at the White
   House, Tuesday, March 6, 2012. Photo: AP
   President Barack Obama gestures during a news conference at the White
   House, Tuesday, March 6, 2012.

   President Barack Obama says he does not expect a breakthrough at the
   first meeting with Iran when the international community resumes talks
   over the nation's nuclear program.
   Speaking at a White House news conference Tuesday, Obama said he thinks
   the international community will have a good sense fairly quickly about
   how serious Iran is about the negotiations.
   He said to resolve the issue will require Iran to come to the table and
   discuss in a "clear and forthright" way how it will prove to the
   international community that the intentions of its nuclear program are
   peaceful.
   With respect to Israel and its suggestions it could strike Iranian
   nuclear facilities, the president said Israel is a sovereign nation
   that has to make its own decisions about how best to preserve its
   security. He said it is in everybody's interests, however, to see if
   the issue can be resolved in a peaceful fashion. He said the notion
   that the international community has a choice to make in the next two
   weeks or even two months is "not borne out by facts."
   Obama said it is not just an issue of consequence for Israel if action
   is taken prematurely, but an issue of consequence for the United States
   as well, and said it is important to take a careful, thoughtful, sober
   approach.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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