‘US prepared to ‘walk away’ in case of no deal with Iran’

Asserting that “gaps” still exist in negotiations over Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, President Barack Obama has said the US is prepared to “walk away” if a deal cannot be made with Tehran to verify that it is not going to obtain an atomic weapon.

“If there’s no deal, then we walk away,” Obama told CBS News in an interview.

“If we cannot verify that they are not going to obtain a nuclear weapon, that there’s a breakout period, so that even if they cheated we would be able to have enough time to take action, if we don’t have that kind of deal, then we’re not going to take it,” he said.

Responding to questions, Obama said there is enormous suspicion between the Iranian regime and the world, not just the US.

“The Iranians have negotiated seriously because we were able to bring them to the table through some of the toughest sanctions that have been ever put in place. We have made progress in narrowing the gaps, but those gaps still exist,” he said.

“I would say that over the next month or so, we’re going to be able to determine whether or not their system is able to accept what would be an extraordinarily reasonable deal, if in fact, as they say, they are only interested in peaceful nuclear programmes,” the US President said.