Iran and a group of
six nations, led by the United States, said they had reached a historic accord,
on Tuesday 14th July 2015, to significantly limit Tehran’s nuclear
ability, for more than a decade, in return for lifting international oil and
financial sanctions.
The deal culminates
20 months of negotiations on an agreement that President Obama had long sought
as the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency. Whether it portends a
new relationship between the United States and Iran — after decades of coups,
hostage-taking, terrorism and sanctions — remains a bigger question.
Mr. Obama, in an early morning
appearance at the White House that was broadcast live in Iran, began what
promised to be an arduous effort to sell the deal to Congress and the American
public, saying the agreement is “not built on trust — it is built on
verification.”
As soon as the agreement was
announced, in Vienna and on the streets
of Tehran, its harshest critics said it would ultimately empower Iran rather
than limit its capability. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called
it a “historic mistake” that would create a “terrorist nuclear superpower.”
American officials said the
core of the agreement, secured in 18 consecutive days of talks, lies in the
restrictions on the amount of nuclear fuel that Iran can keep for the next 15
years. The current stockpile of low enriched uranium will be reduced by 98
percent, most likely by shipping much of it to Russia. That limit, combined
with a two-thirds reduction in the number of its centrifuges, would extend to a
year the amount of time it would take Iran to make enough material for a single
bomb should it abandon the accord and race for a weapon — what officials call
“breakout time.” By comparison, analysts say Iran now has a breakout time of
two to three months.
Compared with many past
efforts to slow a nation’s nuclear programs, including a deal struck with North Korea 20
years ago, this agreement is remarkably
specific. Mr. Kerry said he had insisted it must be “airtight.” But some
mysteries remain. For example, it is not clear whether the inspectors would be
able to interview the scientists and engineers who were believed to have been
at the center of an effort by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to design a
weapon that Iran could manufacture in short order.