Washington (Alshahid) –  As US President Barack Obama declared the world safer after a 47-nation summit agreed to a four-year deadline to shut loose nuclear materials to prevent them from falling into militant hands, it has emerged that the target of the agenda is Iran and the al-Qaeda.

Hosting one of the largest summit in the United States in the recent times, Obama took the opportunity to pressed China and other UN Security Council synics to back UN sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear program.

“I am going to push as hard as I can to make sure that we get strong sanctions that have consequences for Iran,” Obama said.

There are mixed signals from Beijing even as the Chinese President Hu Jintao told the summit that China “firmly” opposes atomic weapons proliferation but backs civilian uses.

This has kept the world guessing, as to whether China would fully endorse the US-led push for a fourth set of UN sanctions on Iran.

The emerging relationship between Obama and Tibet’s Dalai Lama has strained U.S –China diplomatic relations.

Obama also singled the Al-Qaeda which he said had tried to obtain a nuclear bomb, and that radioactive material as small as an apple was enough to kill thousands of people.

The US leader also addressed fears about the nuclear arsenal in Pakistan, a major stronghold for Al-Qaeda and militant groups at war with US forces in Afghanistan, saying he felt “confident” about security levels.

“Because of the steps we’ve taken the American people will be safer and the world will be more secure,” Obama said at the end of the summit.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised the summit as a “full success” and announced Russia’s plans to shut down its last weapons-grade plutonium reactor.

The summit leaders also agreed to “recognize the need for cooperation among states to effectively prevent and respond to incidents of illicit nuclear trafficking.”

But increased security must “not infringe upon the rights of states to develop and utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and technology,” summit participants said.

They also vowed to support the International Atomic Energy Agency – the UN nuclear watchdog.

However, experts say that Obama’s goals, while lofty, were by no means assured. They claim the programme is ambitious, underfunded and requires a lot effort by the US to make it work.

The next nuclear security summit meeting will be held in South Korea in 2012, an occasion that should be used to persuade North Korea another controversial nuclear state to disarm.