Obama: US would ‘walk away’ if Iran nuclear deal is ‘no good’

CALM DOWN. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks to the media during a news conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, on Saturday, March 7, 2015, in Paris. Kerry is meeting with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Britain to brief them on the status of nuclear negotiations with Iran. AP

WASHINGTON, United States — President Barack Obama says the United States would “walk away” from nuclear talks with Iran if there’s no acceptable deal.

Obama says any agreement must allow Western powers to verify that Tehran isn’t going to obtain an atomic weapon, and that even if Iran “cheated,” the U.S. and others would have “enough time to take action.”

The president tells CBS’ “Sunday Morning” that “if we don’t have that kind of deal, then we’re not going to take it.”

Big gaps remain to be bridged if the sides are to reach a deal by the end of March deadline set by negotiators. The next round of talks is set to begin March 15.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and exists only to produce energy for civilian use.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is insisting that Congress have a chance to review and vote on any deal, but acknowledges that he doesn’t have the support yet to override a threatened veto by Obama.

“I’m hoping we can get 67 senators to assert the historic role of the Senate and the Congress in looking at matters of this magnitude. Obviously, the president doesn’t want us involved in this. But he’s going to need us if he’s going to lift any of the existing sanctions. And so I think he cannot work around Congress forever,” McConnell told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

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