BREAKING: President Barack Obama says he’s spoken by phone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. It marks the first conversation between American and Iranian presidents in more than 30 years.
Obama says after speaking with Rouhani, he believes the U.S. and Iran can reach a comprehensive solution over Iran’s nuclear program.
Obama says he and Rouhani have both directed their teams to work quickly to pursue an agreement. He says the U.S. will coordinate closely with its allies, including Israel, which considers an Iranian nuclear weapon capability to be an existential threat.
Obama says the conversation shows the possibility of moving forward. Iranian and U.N. officials have been meeting to continue talks on how to investigate suspicions that Iran has worked secretly on trying to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies that claim.
It is unclear how this affect Obama politically, with Syria not too far behind Americans in the rear-view mirror. A recent poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports found that most U.S. voters still think that country is unlikely to halt its nuclear development efforts, but even more voters are opposed to U.S. military action against Iran.
The poll found that just 25% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is at least somewhat likely that Iran will slow or stop its nuclear program in the next year in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Sixty-six percent (66%) consider this “Unlikely.” This includes four percent (4%) who say Iran is “Very Likely” to slow or stop its nuclear efforts in exchange for the lifting of sanctions and 23% who think it is “Not At All Likely.”
