President Obama commented extensively on Iran at a White House news conference on March 6, 2012.
"Because sanctions are starting to have significant effect inside of Iran -- and that's not just my assessment, that's, I think, a uniform assessment -- because the sanctions are going to be even tougher in the coming months, because they're now starting to affect their oil industry, their central bank, and because we're now seeing noises about them returning to the negotiating table, that it is deeply in everybody's interests, the United States, Israel and the world's, to see if this can be resolved in a peaceful fashion,"
"Now, what's said on the campaign trail -- you know, those folks don't have a lot of responsibilities. They're not commander in chief…And when I see the casualness with which some of these folks talk about war, I'm reminded of the costs involved in war; I'm reminded of the decision that I have to make, in terms of sending our young men and women into battle, and the impacts that has on their lives, the impact it has on our national security, the impact it has on our economy."
"This is not a game…And there's nothing casual about it."
"If some of these folks think that it's time to launch a war, they should say so."
"And they should explain to the American people exactly why they would do that and what the consequences would be…Everything else is just talk."
"[t]hose who are suggesting or proposing or beating the drums of war should explain clearly to the American people what the costs and benefits should be…I'm not one of those people."
"Because what I've said is, is that we have a window through which we can resolve this issue peacefully…We have put forward an international framework that is applying unprecedented pressure. The Iranians just stated that they are willing to return to the negotiating table. And we've got the opportunity, even as we maintain that pressure, to see how it plays out."
"[T]his notion that somehow we have a choice to make in the next week or two weeks or month or two months is not borne out by the facts."
Click here for a link to the statement at the White House website.