In Case You Missed It: UANI President, Dr. Gary Samore, Appears on NBC's "Meet the Press"

September 29, 2013

In Case You Missed It: UANI President, Dr. Gary Samore, Appears on NBC's "Meet the Press"

"Words Are Nice, But What Really Counts ... Is Whether Iran Is Prepared To Take Action."

"Pressure [Brought us Here] ... As the Sanctions Continue to Bite Even More, then the Iranians will Have to Make Some Tough Choices"

 

NBC's "Meet the Press"

September 29, 2013

 

DAVID GREGORY, NBC NEWS: What I'm fascinated by is what has brought us to this moment, Gary? What is motivating Rouhani?

 

GARY SAMORE, UANI PRESIDENT: I think the answer is very simple. It's pressure. I mean the economic and political sanctions that the U.S. has imposed on Iran, starting with President Bush, and then strengthened by President Obama, has been sufficient to force the Iranians to seek a nuclear deal so they can get relief from sanctions. ...

 

SAMORE: I think the U.S. will seek in these negotiations physical limits so that the Iranians don't have the capacity to break out quickly. And so far, Rohani has not indicated any willingness to accept those kinds of limits. ...

 

GREGORY: So 30 seconds here, you've got Bibi Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who comes to meet with the president tomorrow. He's going to say to him, "Don't trust this guy ... he's fooling you."

 

SAMORE: I think what the president will say is that it will all depend on concrete results, that words are nice, but what really counts, at the end of the day, is whether Iran is prepared to take action. Just as the president said in his U.N. speech.

 

GREGORY: Do you believe it? Do you think this is real?

 

SAMORE: I don't think it's real yet. I think the Iranians, for now, will try to see if they can get sanctions relieved through charm.

 

GREGORY: Right. And play rope-a-dope, right?

 

SAMORE: And play rope-a-dope.

 

GREGORY: He said that this is how you do it, you can delay while you keep building.

 

SAMORE: And but once they find out that that doesn't work, and as the sanctions continue to bite even more, then the Iranians will have to make some tough choices. ...

 

Click here to watch the full interview.

 

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