Obama: World Won’t Wait for Iran to Build Nuclear Weapon

President Praises G8 'Statement of Unity' Against Iran

by Jason Ditz, July 10, 2009

President Barack Obama stepped up his harsh anti-Iran rhetoric today at the G8 summit, declaring that world leaders were “appalled” by the post-election violence in the nation and declaring that the US and the rest of the international community are “not going to just wait indefinitely and allow for the development of the nuclear weapon.”

President Obama also praised the results of the G8 summit, saying he had gotten “a statement of unity and strong condemnation” against Iran. It was noted by multiple media outlets that the US “failed” to gain support for new sanctions, however diplomats had previously said that the US was opposed to those moves in the first place.

G8 member Russia was dismissive of the anti-Iran measures, insisting that the post-election situation was an internal matter and not something for the group to take up. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had visited Russia just days after the disputed election, and was received warmly.

President Obama and other US officials have repeatedly treated their claims that Iran is developing nuclear weapons as a matter of course, however officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) insist that there is no evidence that the nation has an active weapons program. The IAEA has also repeatedly certified that the civilian nuclear program in Iran, a source of major US criticism, has not diverted any of its material to military use.

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