Updated on
Summary
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the US continues to have serious concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions despite the fact it agreed to store some nuclear materials abroad. At the White House daily briefing, Gibbs said the administration remains skeptical of a deal and would continue to push for sanctions. Turkey, Brazil and Iran made a deal on Monday that would require Iran to store some of its uranium supply in other countries in exchange for approval of its nuclear programme, which Western countries say is designed to make weapons. Given Irans repeated failure to live up to its own commitments, and the need to address fundamental issues related to Irans nuclear program, the United States and international community continue to have serious concerns, Gibbs said. The words and the deeds of the Iranian leadership rarely coincide, Gibbs said. He also made it clear that the administration does not view the new development as any reason to delay a Security Council sanctions regime. The deal is seen as a last effort to avoid further sanctions being imposed on Iran, which says it wants to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. Gibbs said it would be a positive step for Iran to transfer low-enriched uranium off of its soil, but countered that their insistence on enriching some uranium is in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
