Kerry: Obama prepared to use force in Iran

Secretary of State John F. Kerry, defending the Obama administration’s efforts to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, said the White House is prepared to use force if necessary to halt the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment.

In an NBC interview that took place after talks in Geneva broke down early Sunday, Mr. Kerry said criticism from some that the administration is unwilling to leverage American power in the Iranian talks and in the region is unfounded.

“The president has been willing and made it clear that he is prepared to use force with respect to Iran’s weapon, and he has deployed the forces and the weapons necessary to achieve that goal if it has to be achieved,” he said. “We can’t let mythology and politics start to cloud reality.”

U.S. allies, including Israel and France, have expressed concerns that Mr. Kerry and the Obama administration are making too many concessions in the talks to end the nuclear crisis.

Mr. Kerry defended the administration’s overtures to the Iranians.

“You have to act in some good faith, and an effort to be able to move towards the goal you want to achieve — if, as their act of good faith, they freeze their program and allow us absolutely unprecedented access to inspection and do other things,” he said.

Negotiations are set to resume Nov. 20.

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