Obama said the goal of his administration is to stop Iran from having nuclear weapons.
"It would be not only dangerous to us and our allies, but it would be destabilising to the entire region and could trigger a nuclear arms race that would make life much more dangerous for all of us," he said.
Obama said the sanctions that have been put in place are effective in crippling the Iranian economy and are the reason that brought Iran back to the negotiating table.
Iran's economy dropped five percent last year, its currency plummeted and it had significant problems in the day-to-day economy on the ground, according to the US president.
He said pursing a diplomatic path to solve Iran's nuclear issue would be his preference, because military options are always "difficult" and "have unintended consequences."
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