Obama: Nuclear deal a success even if Iran doesn't change its ways

Barack Obama
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

President Obama says the Iranian nuclear deal is the "right thing" to do regardless of Tehran's opaque future "because we can't bank on the nature of the regime changing."

In an interview with NPR, Obama said the most important goal in dealing with Iran is to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon; convincing Tehran to make progress on other fronts — like human rights and the propagation of violence in the region — would be welcome, too, but not as necessary.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.