Obama to Iran: Prove you're for peace

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday called on Iran to prove its sincerity and pushed for a comprehensive Middle East peace in a speech to the United Nations.

Obama said "this is no ordinary time" and ticked off what the United States has done to try to spur world growth and job creation though there is still "much work to be done." He also highlighted the U.S. fight against terrorism

In an impassioned speech before the U.N. General Assembly, Obama said New York is proof people of different backgrounds can live in peace and prosper.

"For through the citizens of every conceivable ancestry who make this city their own, we see living proof that opportunity can be accessed by all, that what unites us as human beings is far greater than what divides us, and that people from every part of this world can live together in peace," Obama said.

"I stand here before you confident in the future -- a future where Iraq is governed by neither tyrant nor a foreign power, and Afghanistan is freed from the turmoil of war; a future where the children of Israel and Palestine can build the peace that was not possible for their parents; a world where the promise of development reaches into the prisons of poverty and disease; a future where the cloud of recession gives way to the light of renewal and the dream of opportunity is available to all."

The president said the door of diplomacy is open to Iran should its leaders decide to walk through it.

"As part of our effort on non-proliferation, I offered the Islamic Republic of Iran an extended hand last year, and underscored that it has both rights and responsibilities as a member of the international community," Obama said, adding, "Iran is the only party to the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) that cannot demonstrate the peaceful intentions of its nuclear program, and those actions have consequences."

"The United States and the international community seek a resolution to our differences with Iran, and the door remains open to diplomacy should Iran choose to walk through it. But the Iranian government must demonstrate a clear and credible commitment and confirm to the world the peaceful intent of its nuclear program."

On prospects for a Middle East peace, Obama said he recognizes many are pessimistic.

"But I ask you to consider the alternative. If an agreement is not reached, Palestinians will never know the pride and dignity that comes with their own state. Israelis will never know the certainty and security that comes with sovereign and stable neighbors who are committed to coexistence. The hard realities of demography will take hold. More blood will be shed. This Holy Land will remain a symbol of our differences, instead of our common humanity.

"I refuse to accept that future," he said.

Obama called on Israel to extend the moratorium on construction in the West Bank and on those who support the Palestinians to help the Palestinian Authority both financially and politically.

"Those who long to see an independent Palestine must also stop trying to tear down Israel," he said. "After thousands of years, Jews and Arabs are not strangers in a strange land. After 60 years in the community of nations, Israel's existence must not be a subject for debate."