President Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden, delivers a statement about the nuclear deal reached between Iran and six major world powers during an address from the White House on Tuesday.
Reuters/Landov
Source: NPR
The United States and five of its allies have reached a historic agreement with Iran over its nuclear program.
As we’ve reported, the deal puts restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and also sets up an inspections regime that makes sure Iran is meeting its obligations. In exchange, the U.S. and its European partners have agreed to drop tough sanctions on Iran, allowing them to sell more oil and rejoin international financial systems.
We’ve got a broad outline of the news at another post. Here, we’ll keep up with all the updates that emerge throughout the day. Make sure to refresh this page for the latest:
Update at 7:39 a.m. ET. Increases Breakout Time:
Speaking from Vienna, Secretary of State John Kerry echoed President Obama.
“This is the good deal that we have sought,” Kerry said.
The bottom line, Kerry said, is that this deal increases Iran’s so-called breakout time — or the time it could take Iran to develop a nuclear weapon once it has made the decision to do so.
According to Kerry, once the agreement is implemented, Iran’s breakout time goes from two to three months to one year or more.
Kerry also said the deal:
— Allows Iran to enrich uranium but to no more than 3.67 percent, which is needed for civilian purposes but much lower than would needed for a weapon.
— Iran has agreed to turn its Fordow facility, which is essentially an underground bunker, into a research facility where Iranian and world scientists will work side-by-side.
— The Arak heavy-water reactor, which could have been capable of starting production on weapons-grade plutonium, will be rebuilt using a design approved by the international community. That design will make the production of weapons-grade plutonium impossible, Kerry said.
Update at 7:17 a.m. ET. An Opportunity For A New Direction:
In a speech from the White House, President Obama said that quite simply this deal keeps Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
According to Obama, the deal cuts off “every pathway” Iran has to get to a nuclear weapon. It also: removes two-thirds of Iran’s centrifuges; includes a commitment from Iran not use its advance centrifuges for a decade and limits Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium for 15 years.
The deal also gives international inspectors what Obama said was 24/7 access to Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“That means this deal is not built on trust; it is built on verification,” Obama said.
Not having a deal, Obama added, would actually allow Iran to inch closer toward attaining a nuclear weapon and would make a military confrontation with Iran more likely.
“We give up nothing by testing whether or not this problem can be solved peacefully,” Obama said.
The president said his administration would brief Congress on all the details of the deal but he warned that it would “irresponsible to walk away from this deal.”
The agreement, Obama said, makes the region and world safer.
“This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction,” Obama said. “We should seize it.”
Categories: Americas, Iran, United States