The U.N. Security Council announcement to resume nuclear talks with Iran came shortly after Iran has announced it will allow international nuclear inspectors to visit its secret Parchin military complex, which has come under speculation as a potential site for research relevant to nuclear weapons. It also came amidst ongoing talks in Washington of a potential military strike on Iran by Israel or the United States. At a White House news conference, President Obama reiterated his vow to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon if it attempts to do so.

President Obama: “We will not countenance Iran getting a nuclear weapon. My policy is not containment. My policy is to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon, because if they get a nuclear weapon that could trigger an arms race in the region, it would undermine our nonproliferation goals, it could potentially fall into the hands of terrorists. And we’ve been in close consultation with all our allies, including Israel, in moving this strategy forward.”

Obama was speaking one day after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has sought U.S. support for military action against Iran. In a response to his Republican critics, Obama challenged proponents of immediate military action to explain their case to the public.

President Obama: “It is deeply in everybody’s interests — the United States, Israel and the world’s — to see if this can be resolved in a peaceful fashion. And so this notion that somehow we have a choice to make in the next week or two weeks or month or two months is not borne out by the facts. I think there’s no doubt that those who are suggesting or proposing or beating the drums of war should explain clearly to the American people what they think the costs and benefits would be. I’m not one of those people.”