Iranian President Hasan Rouhani
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Source: BBC
Iran has agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities in return for about $7bn (£4.3bn) in sanctions relief, after days of intense talks in Geneva.
US President Barack Obama welcomed the deal, saying it included “substantial limitations which will help prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon”.
Iran agreed to give better access to inspectors and halt some of its work on uranium enrichment.
President Hassan Rouhani said the deal recognised Iran’s nuclear “rights”.
But he repeated, in a nationwide broadcast, that his country would never seek a nuclear weapon.
Tehran denies repeated claims by Western governments that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. It insists it must be allowed to enrich uranium to use in power stations.
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Analysis
James Reynolds BBC Iran correspondent
The first announcement of the most important agreement between Iran and the West in more than a decade was made on Twitter. Shortly before three in the morning in Geneva, the EU posted: “We have reached agreement between the E3+3 and Iran.” Minutes later, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Javad Zarif followed: “We have reached an agreement.”
The immediate origins of this deal date to 14 June 2013, when Hassan Rouhani was elected president of Iran. Mr Rouhani promised to end his country’s repeated confrontations with the outside world, beginning with the argument over its nuclear programme.
To bring about a deal, Mr Rouhani pursued two key policies. Firstly, he secured the public backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for his diplomatic efforts. Secondly, the new president and his foreign minister broke precedent and pursued direct high-level contact with Iran’s long time enemy, the US.
If there is to be a lasting nuclear agreement, it may spring from a reconciliation between these two countries.
The deal comes just months after Iran elected Mr Rouhani – regarded as a relative moderate – as its new president, in place of the hard-line Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
It has also been backed by Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
After four days of negotiations, representatives of the so-called P5+1 group of nations – the US, the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany – reached an agreement with Iran in the early hours of Sunday.
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Key points of the deal include:
- Iran will stop enriching uranium beyond 5%, and “neutralise” its stockpile of uranium enriched beyond this point
- Iran will give greater access to inspectors including daily access at the Natanz and Fordo nuclear sites
- There will be no further development of the Arak plant which it is believed could produce plutonium
- In return, there will be no new nuclear-related sanctions for six months if Iran sticks by the accord
- Iran will also receive sanctions relief worth about $7bn (£4.3bn) on sectors including precious metals
The interim agreement with Iran – the world’s fourth-largest oil producer – prompted a fall in oil prices in early Asian trading on Monday, with Brent crude falling by more than 2%.