At the White House today, reporters questioned press secretary Josh Earnest about whether President Obama was willing to ease the arms embargo to and from Iran to complete the exhaustive nuclear talks with that country.
According to reports, the arms embargo of military equipment to and from Iran have been a sticking point in the negotiations that continue past multiple deadlines.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, insisted during a congressional hearing that under “no circumstances” should there be relief for Iran on ballistic missiles and arms trafficking.
But when asked if Dempsey spoke for the administration regarding the limits on conventional weapons, Earnest cryptically told reporters that Dempsey’s statement reflected his “personal point of view” and the advice he was likely giving the president.
When asked directly by reporters whether Obama would lift the arms embargo against Iran, Earnest refused on multiple occasions to rule it out.
“I’m not going to get into the essence of the negotiations, but we’ve tried to be as clear as possibly can about this,” Earnest said, repeating that the negotiations was primarily about the nuclear arms embargo.
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