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Throughout our negotiations with Iran, we were clear-eyed about Iran’s status as the world’s foremost state-sponsor of terror, and we resolved not to let the regime off the hook. In fact, from sponsoring terrorist activity to human rights abuses, Iran continues to pursue destabilizing activities in the Middle East region that the U.S. and our allies continue to monitor and address.

So why did the U.S. spend nearly two years negotiating a nuclear agreement with Iran? 

It’s a fair question with an important answer: As destabilizing as Iran’s regional activities are, they would be exponentially more dangerous with a nuclear weapon. And now that we’ve taken a nuclear-armed Iran off the table, we can ratchet up the pressure on its destabilizing activities—including its support for terrorism.

We are committed to countering Iran’s actions that threaten our national security interests and those of our allies, especially Israel. Here's how: 

Strengthening the Defense and Security of Israel:

The United States and Israel have forged a deep and enduring bond since the United States became the first country to recognize Israel in 1948. The close engagement—at all levels—between the two countries reflects how our histories, interests, and values are so deeply intertwined between our two peoples. President Obama knows that Israel’s national security is paramount and that is why, under his leadership, the United States has provided an unprecedented level of support to Israel since he took office. 

Under President Obama, we are helping Israel address new and complex security threats to ensure Israel maintains its Qualitative Military Edge (QME), or its ability to counter and defeat any credible conventional military threat through superior military capability and means. Here’s what that looks like:

Intensifying Security Cooperation with Gulf States:

For the past 70 years, the United States has maintained a core national security interest in the security and the stability of our allies in the Gulf region – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain. We’ve long cooperated on confronting the extraordinary challenges posed by ISIL, al Qaeda, the Assad regime’s war in Syria, and Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region. 

As President Obama has said, we will continue to maintain a strong force posture in the region to deter aggression; bolster the security of our regional friends and allies; ensure the freedom of navigation of international waterways and the free flow of energy to world markets; and address nefarious actors that seek to sow the seeds of instability. Here’s what that looks like: 

In this week's address, the President spoke about his upcoming trip to Alaska, during which he will view the effects of climate change firsthand. Alaskans are already living with the impact of climate change, with glaciers melting faster, and temperatures projected to rise between six and twelve degrees by the end of the century. In his address, the President spoke to ways in which we can address these challenges, including the transition away from fossil fuels to more renewable energy sources like wind and solar, an effort in which America is already leading.

And he stressed that while our economy still has to rely on oil and gas during that transition, we should rely more on domestic production than importing from foreign counties who do not have the same environmental or safety standards as the United States. The President looked forward to his upcoming trip, and promised that while he is in office, America will lead the world to meet the threat of climate change before it’s too late.

Transcript | mp4 | mp3

On June 24, 2015, President Obama approved Presidential Policy Directive 30, U.S. Nationals Taken Hostage Abroad and Personnel Recovery Efforts, and signed an Executive Order on the recovery of U.S. hostages taken abroad. These steps directed key organizational changes to ensure that the U.S. Government is doing all it can to safely recover Americans taken hostage overseas and is responsive to the needs of their families. Among the changes the President announced was the need to enhance our focus on diplomatic efforts to ensure the safe return of American hostages to their families.

In signing the Executive Order, the President outlined our whole of government approach to hostage recovery and announced that a new Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs would engage at the highest levels of foreign governments to secure the safe return of U.S. hostages. Today, the President has appointed Jim O’Brien to serve as the first Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. In this role, Mr. O’Brien will report to the Secretary of State and will work closely with the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell also established under the Executive Order and the rest of the U.S. Government to synchronize diplomatic efforts in support of comprehensive strategies to bring home American hostages. He will also work directly with the families of hostages as part of the U.S. Government team dedicated to securing the safe return of their loved ones.

Mr. O’Brien is uniquely qualified to serve in this position given his extensive background in diplomacy and international negotiations.  He brings years of diplomatic experience having served as the Special Presidential Envoy for the Balkans, Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and Principal Deputy Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State. As Secretary of State John Kerry has said, “Jim is exactly the right person for a job that demands a high level of diplomatic experience and the ability to analyze and find effective remedies to complex problems.”

The appointment of Jim O’Brien is an important milestone in the President’s enhancements of the United States’ response to hostage events and to implement the findings and recommendations of the review ordered by the President.

Lisa Monaco is the President's Advisor on Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

In September 2009, the President announced that — for the first time in history — White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in May 2015. This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to more than 4.75 million — all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.