He said an agreement can open up "new possibilities and prosperity" for the Iranian people.
Mr Obama's comments come in his annual videotaped message to Iranians marking the Persian new year, Nowruz. This year's message coincides with nuclear negotiations between the US, Iran and five other world powers.
"I'm under no illusions. This will be difficult," Mr Obama said.
"But I'm committed to diplomacy because I believe there is the basis for a practical solution."
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
In November the US, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia reached a deal with Iran to curb Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for limited sanctions relief.
Israel denounced it as a "historic mistake".
The new set of talks is aimed at reaching a final settlement to a decade-old stand-off over Iran's atomic activities, which Tehran says are peaceful but the West fears may be aimed at developing a nuclear weapons capability.
Negotiators met this week in Vienna and are set to reconvene in early April.
Some analysts have pointed out that the US standoff with Russia over Ukraine could hurt the chances of a comprehensive agreement on Iran.
However, US and other Western officials have insisted that the crisis will have no impact on the Iran nuclear talks.
0 comments:
Post a Comment