Obama backs Iran deal

President Obama defended his nuclear deal with Iran on Thursday at an event celebrating Hanukkah at the White House.

Obama told White House visitors, including three Supreme Court justices, that his administration was “testing” whether it was possible to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon through dipomacy.

“For the first time in a decade, we’ve halted the progress of Iran’s nuclear program” said Obama, who argued that key parts of it were being rolled back under the interim deal.

{mosads}“Over the coming months, we’re going to continue our diplomacy with the goal of achieving a comprehensive solution that deals with the threat of Iran’s nuclear weapons once and for all,” he said.

The interim nuclear deal has been criticized by Republicans and some Democrats for lifting sanctions on Iran while not imposing tough enough conditions on the regime.

Perhaps most critically, it allows Iran to continue to enrich uranium. While administration officials suggest a final deal could include an end to the enrichment process, Iran has been adamant it will not agree to such a concession.

The Senate is considering new sanctions that could be imposed on Iran, though exactly what form those would take is unclear.

Read more from The Hill.