DHAKA: A historic deal with Iran will close off any possibility the country can develop nuclear weapons, halting a potential arms race in the Middle East.

United States President Barack Obama said in a speech aired ‘live’ on Iranian TV, reports The Straits Times.

The accord, which will take months to be fully implemented, will stand as one of the chief foreign policy accomplishments of Obama’s two terms.

Obama said it builds on a US tradition of negotiating with foes including the former Soviet Union.

‘This deal demonstrates that American diplomacy can bring about real and meaningful change, change that makes our country safer and more secure,’ Obama said on Tuesday at a speech in the White House.

In exchange for lifting painful economic sanctions on Iran, which holds the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves and second-largest natural gas deposits, the Islamic Republic is agreeing to restrictions and inspections intended to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

‘We have stopped the spread of nuclear weapons’ in the Middle East, Obama said, calling the area ‘the most volatile region in the world’.

Obama said the nuclear deal with Iran offered a chance to move in a ‘new direction’ in relations with Teheran, but promised a skeptical Israel that Washington would not abandon it.

‘Our differences are real. The difficult history between the nations cannot be ignored. It is possible to change,’ Obama said. ‘This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction. We should seize it.’

The US president nevertheless promised to ‘continue our unprecedented efforts to strengthen Israel’s security, efforts that go beyond what any administration has done before’.

BDST: 1804 HRS, JULY 14, 2015
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