NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the UN General Assembly meeting on September 25, 2012 in New York City. The event gathers more than 100 heads of state and government for high level meetings on nuclear safety, regional conflicts, health and nutrition and environment issues. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Obama says that time after time, Iran has failed to demonstrate that its nuclear program is peaceful and has failed to meet its obligations to the United Nations. He also says the Iranian government has been propping up the dictatorship in Syria and supporting terrorist groups abroad.
The president says, quote, "the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."
This is Obama's final international address before the November elections.
President Barack Obama is challenging the international community to confront the root causes of turmoil in the Middle East, saying the world faces "a choice between the forces that would drive us apart and the hopes we hold in common."
Obama was speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, saying the United States will not shrink from its role with nations under transition despite the killing of four Americans in Libya, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, and more than 50 people in violence tied to an anti-Muslim film.
Obama says the video is an "insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well."
The president opened his address Tuesday with a tribute to Stevens, saying the diplomat "saw dignity in the people he met."
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)