Of military showdown. That context, there is no good argument for us to try to undercut undermine the negotiations until theyve played themselves out. If iran ends up ultimately not being able to say yes, if they cannot provide us the kind of assurances that would lead myself, David Cameron, and others to conclude that they are not obtaining a Nuclear Weapon then were going to have to explore other options, and i will be the first one to come and say we need to tighten the screws. Congress should be aware that if this diplomatic solution fails, then the risks and likelihood that this ends up being at some point a military confrontation is heightened. Congress will have to own that as well. That will have to be debated by the American People. We may not be able to rebuild the kind of coalition we need in that context if the world believes we are not serious about negotiations. I take this very seriously, and i dont question the good faith of some folks who think this might be helpful. Its my team on the table. We have been working on this for five, six, seven years. We consult closely with allies like the United Kingdom in making these assessments. I am asking congress to hold off because our negotiators, our partners, those that are most intimately involved in this assess that it would jeopardize the possibility of resolving providing a diplomatic solution to one of the most difficult and longlasting National Security problems that we faced in a very long time. Congress needs to show patience. I said to my Democratic Caucus colleagues yesterday that i will veto a bill that comes to my desk. Ly make this argument to the American People about why im doing it and i respectfully request them to hold off for a few months to so if we have the possibility of solving a big problem without resorting potentially to war. I think thats worth doing. Well see how persuasive i am but if im not persuading congress, i promise ill be taking my case to the American People on this. There are talks at least that have a prospect of success. I would argue with the president how much better is that than the other potential outcomes and that is what we should be focused on. To answer you very directly yes, i have contacted the centers this morning, and i may speak to one or two more this afternoon. Not in any way to tell the American Senate what they should or shouldnt do. That wouldnt be right. But simply to make a point at a country that stands along side america in these negotiations that its the opinion of the United Kingdom that further sanctions or further threat of sanctions at this point wont actually help to bring the talks to a successful solution and they could fracture the International Unity that theres been which has been so valuable in presenting united front to iran. I say this as someone who played quite a strong role in getting europe to sign up to the very tough sanctions, including Oil Sanctions in the fist place. I would just simply make this point that those sanctions just havent had an affect and those that say if you do an interim meeting, if you even start discussing with the iranians any of these things the sanctions will fall hard and no one will be able to stick at it. That has demon straightively been shown not to be true. The pressure is still there. As the president says if the iranians say no, and there is no deal then by all means, lets sit down and work out what extra sanctions to put in place because we are absolutely united in a simple thought which is a deal that takes iran away from a Nuclear Weapon. Better than iran either having a Nuclear Weapon or military action. It comes down to that simple choishgs so when i do what i can to help as one of the countries negotiating, sure i will. Its hard to know what the iranian thinking is about this. Its very hard to know what the there is a very clear effort, which is to take iran away from a Nuclear Weapon and include an agreement that would be mutually beneficial. I did get a question from Nick Robertson and the bbc. Prime minister, with extra security being put in place today for the Jewish Community and also for Police Officers would people be right to conclude that the threat of an attack on the streets of britain is now almost imminent . You have spoken of the threat caused by fighters coming back from sear wra. Do you ever worry that this is a legacy the decision of the United States and the United Kingdom to in effect stand on the sidelines during serious bloody civil war . If i may briefly, you said you agree. Is he right . Is it time to stick to the plan . We have to be vigilant and strengthen police and security. We have to make sure we do everything we can to keep our country safe, and that involves a longterm, patient disciplined approach. There is no single simple thing that needs to be done. It means closing down the ungoverned spaces that terrorists prayed. It means working against isil in iraq and syria. It means countering this poisonous fanatical death consult of a narrative that is perverting the religion of islam. It means working together with our oldest and best partners so that we share intelligence and security we try and prevent terrorist atrocities from taking place. It means all of these things and it is going to be a long, patient, and hard struggle. I am sure we will come through it and overcome it because in the end the values we hold to are freedom of democracy, having open tolerant societies. These are the strongest values that can be, and in the end we will come lou. Some of the challenges our country has faced together in the past it will take great discipline, great patience, great hard work. You asked specifically about the question about imindependence. We have a system in the United Kingdom that was set by the joint Terrorism Assessment Center and not set by politicians. They judged that the threat we face is severe. That means in their words an attack is highly likely. If ever there is an imminent threat of attack it goes to the next level up which is critical, but its their decision, not mine. My responsibility is to make sure we marshall everything we have as a country in order to defeat this threat. On the Jewish Community, i think its great that the metropolitan police are stepping up controls. I think this is have you to recognize in fighting terrorism, as weve found in britain before, you cannot simply rely on police and security. This is a job for everyone. This is a role were all going to have to play in the vigilance and making sure we keep our community safe. With respect to syria and the connection to foreign fighters, there is no doubt in the chaos vacuum thats been created in big chunks of syria thats given an opportunity for foreign fighters to both come in and come back out. We are now busy working with our partners to implement a series of actions to identify who may be traveling to syria in order to get trained, to fight, or to hatch plots that would be activated on return to her home countries. So its a very serious problem. First of all, mischaracterizes our position. We had so tanned on the sidelines. Its true we did not invade syria. The assertion is had we invaded syria, we roob less prone to terrorist attacks. Ill leave it to you to play out that scenario and if that sounds accurate. Weve been active in trying to resolve a tragic situation in syria through humanitarian efforts, through the removal of chemical weapons from syria had been so deadly and now as isil has moved forward, weve been very active in degrading their Capabilities Even as we are working with partners to make sure that the foreign fighter situation is resolved. I think davids point is the key one. This phenomenon of violent extremism, the ideology the networks the capacity to recruit young people this has metastacized, and it is widespread, and it has penetrated communities around the world. I do not consider it an exo we are stronger. We are representing values that the vast majority of muslims believe in and tolerance and in working together to build rather than destroy. This is a problem that causes great heartache and tragedy and destruction, but it is one that ultimately were going to defeat, but we cant just defeat it through weapons. One of the things that we spoke about is how do we lift up those voices that represent the vast majority of the muslim world so that that counter narrative against this nilism is put out there as aggressively and as nimbly as the messages come out from these fanatics. How do we make sure that we are working with local communities and faith leaders and families . Whether in a neighborhood in london or a neighborhood in detroit, michigan. Thats going to be slow mroding, systematic work. Its work that im confident were going to be able to accomplish. Particularly when we have strong partners like the United Kingdom. On the economy, would i note that Great Britain and the United States are two economies that are standing out at a time when a lot of other countries are having problems. We must be doing something right. Major garrett. Good afternoon, mr. Prime minister. Good afternoon to you, sir. Questions for both of you. I want to make sure we heard what you were trying to say. You clearly are directing a message to congress in the context of iranian negotiations. Were you also accepteding a message, both of you, to iran that if the sanctions talks fail, that war foot issing the next most likely alternative for this country and those who are alive with us in this common pursuit . Atrocities in paris, raids and threats either in belgium, i like to ask you both do you believe europe is at a turning point now in its recognition of what its threats are and its own mobilization in terms of new laws, security footing, larger budgets . You both talked about cyber security. There is a crucial issue for both countries. Back doors and encryption to protect people and also privacy. I would like your comments. I am not, repeat not, suggesting that we are in immediate war footing should negotiation with iran fail. As david put it very simply if in fact our view is that we have to prevent iraq from getting a Nuclear Weapon then we have to recognize the possibility that should diplomacy fail we have to look at other onkss to achieve that goal. If you listen sometimes to the rhetoric surrounding this issue i think there is sometimes the view that this regime cannot be trusted, that effectively negotiations with iran are pointless, and since these claims are being made by individuals who see iran as a mortal threat and want to prevent them as bad as we do from getting a Nuclear Weapon then the question becomes what other alternatives exactly are available . That is part of what we have to consider as to why its so important for us to pursue every possible avenue to see if we can get a deal. Now, its got to be a good deal. Not a bad one. Ive already shown myselfotology walk away from a bad deal. The p5 plus one walked away with us. Nobody is interested in some document that undermines our sanctions and gives iran the possibility of whether covertly or gradually building up its Nuclear Weapons defense. Were not going to allow that and anything that we do any deal that we arrive at if we were to arrive at one, would be subject to scrutiny across the board. Not just by members of congress but more importantly, by people who actually know technical aspects of Nuclear Programs in advance. And now we can effectively verify the most possible. So the bottom line is this. We may not get there, but we have a chance to resolve the Nuclear Issue peacefully and i should point out also by the way, that even if we get a nuclear deal and we are assured that iran doesnt possess Nuclear Weapons weve still got a whole bunch of problems with iran on state sponsored terrorism, their rhetoric towards israel their financing of hezbollah. Weve got differences with respect to syria. Its not as if suddenly we got a great relationship with iran. It solves one particular problem that is urgent, and it solves it better than the other alternatives that might present themselves. So my main message to congress at this point is just hold your fire. Nobody around the world, least of all the iranians doubt my ability to get some additional sanctions passed should these negotiations fail. Thats not a hard vote for me to get through congress. The notion that we need to have additional sanctions or even possibility of sanctions hanging over their head to force them to a better deal i think the iranians know that that is certainly in auerbach pocket if negotiations fail. With respect to violent extremism, my impression is that europe has consistently taken this seriously during the course of my presidency. We have worked collaboratively and with great urgency and with a recognition that not only do you have foreigners who may be trying to hatch plots in europe but that given large number of populations, its important to reach out to and work with local communities and to have a very effective intelligence and counterterrorism cooperation between countries between the United States and europe. Wills no doubt that the most recent events has amplified those concerns. I think among the things ive learned over the last six years is that theres always more that we can do. We can always do it better. We learned from mistakes each incident that occurs teaches our professionals how we might be able to prevent these the next time and im confident that the very strong cooperation already exist with europe and will get that much better in the months and years to come. Heres where i think new york has some particular challenges. I said this. The United States has one big advantage in this whole process. Its not that our Law Enforcement or swellings service is so much better although ours are very very good and i think we begin to recognize the capabilities. Our biggest advantage, major, is that our muslim populations, they feel themselves to be americans, and there is this incredible process of immigration and assimilation that is part of our tradition that is probably our greatest strength. Now, it doesnt mean that we arent subject to the kinds of tragedy that is we saw at the Boston Marathon but i think thats been helpful. As they respond, as they work with us to respond to these circumstances, its important for europe not to simply respond with a hammer and Law Enforcement and military approaches to these problems. There also has to be a recognition that the stronger the ties, the north african or frenchman or north african disent to french values French Republic the last point ill make and ill turnover to david is with respect to the issue of intelligence gathering, signal intelligence encryptions, this is a challenge that we have been working on since i have been president. Obviously it was amplified when mr. Snowden did what he did. Weve been in dialogue with companies, and we have systematically worked through weighs in which we can meek privacy concerns but also meet the very real concerns that theyve identified and my fbi director have identified. Social media is the primary way in which these terrorist organizations are communicating. Its no different than anybody else, but theyre good at it and when we have the ability to track that in a way that is legal and forms with due process in some cases some would say that was justified. I would argue that that although there are some legitimate concerns there, overall the United States government and from what i have seen the British Government have operated in a scrupulous and lawful way to try to balance the security and privacy concerns, and we can do better and thats what were doing. But were still going to have to find ways to make sure that if an al qaeda affiliate is operating in Great Britain or in the United States, that we can try to prevent real tragedy, and i think the Companies Want to see that as well. Theyre patriots. They have families that they want to see protected. We just have to work through in many cases what are technical issues so its not so much that theres a difference intent but how to square the circle is difficult, and were working with were also going to be in dialogue with companies to try to make that happen. If theres a deal then the pressure is off iran, and if there isnt a deal new pressure has to be applied to iran. You know we are approach this with a huge amount of skepticism. The goal of an iran without a Nuclear Weapon makes these talks worthwhile. On the issue your question has is this a turning point for europe in terms of terrorism . I would argue that we turned some time ago. Maybe britain in particular because of the appalling attack that is took place in 2005 but there have been attacks elsewhere, but since i have been Prime Minister theres probably been at least one major plot every year by the significant nature that we have managed to intercept, stop and prevent. The awareness of the scare and the challenge we face is absolutely there across government, across parliament across the different Political Parties in the police and Intelligence Services. I think there is an opportunity