WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has discussed Iraq, Iran and Mideast peace with outgoing Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Obama and Peres met Wednesday at the White House amid Israel’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. Peres told reporters after the meeting that the best solution is to remove Iran’s nuclear apparatus from the country, the same way chemical weapons were removed from Syria.
Peres said Obama told him the U.S. will maintain sanctions against Iran absent a comprehensive deal.
On Iraq’s sectarian conflict, Peres says the Arab world should take the lead. He said it’s not for the West to resolve a historical disagreement over who was the Prophet Muhammad’s real heir. The centuries-old split between the Shia and Sunni denominations dates to the prophet’s death and who should succeed him as leader of the Muslims.
Peres is on his final foreign trip before leaving office. He’ll receive the Congressional Medal of Honor on Thursday.
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