·    President Barack Obama, seeking to sell the Iran nuclear deal to sceptical U.S. lawmakers and the American public, insisted that the landmark agreement was the best way to avoid a nuclear arms race and more war in the Middle East. Obama made his case in a nationally televised news conference responding to critics at home and abroad.”Without a deal,” Obama said, “there would be no limits to Iran’s nuclear programme and Iran could move closer to a nuclear bomb … Without a deal, we risk even more war in the Middle East.” Obama said that if the United States does not seize the opportunity for a deal, “future generations will judge us harshly.”

“Iran will no longer be called a world threat,” Rouhani

The nuclear deal with world powers is a political victory for Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said , adding that the agreement meant Tehran would no longer be regarded as an international threat.

“No one can say Iran surrendered,” Rouhani told a cabinet meeting broadcast on state television. “The deal is a legal, technical and political victory for Iran. It’s an achievement that Iran won’t be called a world threat any more.” Iran and six world powers reached a deal on Tuesday, capping more than a decade of negotiations with an agreement that could transform the Middle East.Under the deal, sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear programme that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb. “No deal is perfect. There should be always compromise. There was a time we doubted there could be a deal. It’s a historic deal and Iranians will be proud of it for generations to come.”  Rouhani said in his remarks to cabinet ministers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed the landmark nuclear accord hammered out between the world powers and Iran as a “historic mistake” and hinted that he remained “committed” to order military action against Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Netanyahu’s comments came at the start of a meeting with visiting Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders. Netanyahu, who had stated that he would relate to the details of the accord at a latter time, said it is the result of wanting to reach an agreement “at any price.” He said that the powers negotiating with Iran – the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany -made far reaching concessions on the areas meant to prevent Iran from ever being able to obtain nuclear arms.

“Iran is going to receive a sure path to nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said.

“Iran will get a jackpot, a cash bonanza of hundreds of billions of dollars, which will enable it to continue to pursue its aggression and terror in the region and in the world,” the Premier said on Israel’s arch-foe.“It is impossible to prevent an agreement when the negotiators are willing to make more and more concessions to those who chant ‘Death to America’ even during the negotiations,” he said.

Led by the United States the so-called P5+1 countries reached the landmark agreement with Iran after more than 20 months of intense negotiations, mostly held in Vienna or Geneva.Netanyahu’s remarks came even as US President Barack Obama assured that as part of the deal Iran will remove two thirds of its installed centrifuges, the machines necessary to produce highly enriched uranium for a bomb and store them under constant international supervision.Iran will not use its advanced centrifuges to produce enriched uranium for the next decade. Iran will also get rid of 98 per cent of its stockpile of enriched uranium, he said.

Netanyahu said that because the Israeli government knew that the desire to reach an agreement was greater than anything else, it never committed itself to prevent the accord.“We did commit ourselves to preventing Iran from arming with nuclear weapons, and in my eyes that commitment still stands,” he said.Netanyahu, coming under withering criticism from the opposition for what is being termed a colossal failure on his part to stop the agreement, called for Israel’s political leaders to put party politics aside and unite around a most fateful issue for Israel’s future and security.