Obama promises to keep military options open in Iran nuclear deal

Obama, in a letter addressed to New York Democratic representative Jerrold Nadler, said that if Iran rushes to build a nuclear weapon, “all of the options available to the United States – including the military option – will remain available”.

In the letter, which has been seen by the Guardian and was first published by the New York Times, the president also says the US will uphold sanctions targeting Iran’s non-nuclear activities, such as its support for Lebanon’s Hezbollah group and what Obama calls Iran’s “destabilising role in Yemen”.

“We have a wide range of unilateral and multilateral responses that we can employ should Iran fail to meet its commitments,” the letter goes on, citing the “snap back” provisions of the deal, which allow the US and its European partners to restore sanctions in the event of a breach by Tehran.

Obama wrote the letter, dated 19 August, from Martha’s Vineyard, where he is in the midst of a two-week vacation. While the president has made no public appearances during his vacation, he has been privately reaching out to Democratic lawmakers in a bid to boost support for the Iran deal.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/21/obama-promises-keep-military-options-open-iran-nuclear-deal