|
 The tentative agreement, struck on Thursday after eight days of
talks in Switzerland, clears the way for negotiations on a
settlement aimed at allaying Western fears that Iran was seeking to
build an atomic bomb and in return lift economic sanctions on the
Islamic Republic.
It marks the most significant step toward rapprochement between Iran
and the United States since they became enemies with the 1979
Iranian revolution. But the deal still requires experts to work out
difficult details over three months.
Obama and Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, who both took risks to
open the dialogue, will each have to sell the deal to skeptical
conservatives at home.
With many details still up in the air, France cautioned on Friday
against overoptimism. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who
has the ear of U.S. opposition Republicans, fumed against an
arrangement he said could lead to nuclear proliferation and war in
the Middle East.
"We are not completely at the end of the road and the end of the
road should be in June, said French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius. "Nothing is signed until everything is signed, but things
are going in the right direction," he told French radio station
Europe 1.
The framework is contingent on settling the 12-year dispute by June
30. All sanctions on Iran remain in place until a final settlement.
Celebrations erupted in the Iranian capital after the deal was
reached. Videos and pictures posted on social media showed cars in
Tehran honking horns as passengers clapped. In one video posted on
Facebook, a group of women can be heard clapping and chanting "Thank
you, Rouhani."
Among the six powers, France has taken a consistently tough line
with Tehran. Fabius said Iran's economy stood to gain $150 billion
in relief from the sanctions.
"You will have seen that there was a lot of positive reaction in the
streets in Iran, and I think its real, not fabricated. The
Iranians, the people, the youth are expecting something and that
should be noted, he said.
Obama described the agreement as a "historic understanding with
Iran". He compared it to nuclear arms control deals struck by his
predecessors with the Soviet Union that "made our world safer"
during the Cold War. He also cautioned, however, that "success is
not guaranteed."
Netanyahu was to convene his security cabinet on Friday after
telling Obama in a phone call that he "vehemently opposed" the
agreement. In a statement released after the conversation, Netanyahu
said a deal based on the framework announced in Lausanne "would
threaten the survival of Israel".
"This deal would legitimize Iran's nuclear program, bolster Iran's
economy and increase Iran's aggression and terror throughout the
Middle East and beyond," he said. "It would increase the risks of
nuclear proliferation in the region and the risks of a horrific
war."
Israel is believed to be the only Middle Eastern country that has
nuclear weapons.
Many details still need to be worked out. Diplomats close to the
negotiations said the deal was fragile and the understandings
reached could still collapse between now and June 30. Experts
believe it will be much harder to reach a final deal than it was to
agree the framework accord.
The deal is also opposed by Sunni Arab states which consider Iran,
the leading Shi'ite Muslim country, to be a threat.
[to top of second column]
|
Under the outline deal, Iran would shut more than two-thirds of its
installed centrifuges capable of producing uranium that could be
used to build a bomb, dismantle a reactor that could produce
plutonium and accept intrusive verification.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday there was a
"very good" chance of a final settlement.
IRANIAN CAUTION
The framework includes limits on Iran's enrichment of uranium for 10
years.
Iran agreed to reduce the number of installed uranium enrichment
centrifuges to 6,104 from 19,000, and will operate only 5,060 for 10
years, according to a U.S. fact sheet.
One of the most sensitive issues during the negotiations, Iran's
research and development work, will also be limited.
"Iran has agreed to not conduct research and development associated
with uranium enrichment at Fordow for 15 years," the U.S. fact sheet
said. It also noted Iran will remove the 1,000 more advanced
second-generation centrifuges currently installed at Natanz and
place them in International Atomic Energy Agency-monitored storage
for 10 years.
High enriched uranium can be used to make a weapon, while low
enriched uranium is used in power plants. Iran has insisted it wants
it only for a peaceful nuclear energy program and denies it aimed to
build an atomic bomb.
Iran's "breakout" timeline the time that it would take for it
acquire enough fissile material for one weapon - would be extended
to at least one year, for a duration of at least 10 years, under
this framework. It is currently assessed to be two to three months,
the U.S. fact sheet said.
Iran would gradually receive relief from U.S. and European Union
economic sanctions if it complies with the terms of a final deal.
Some U.N. Security Council sanctions would be gradually lifted,
though others would remain in place.
"We're still some time away from reaching where we want to be," said
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Failure to comply with terms of the deal will cause the U.S. and EU
sanctions to "snap back into place", the U.S. fact sheet said. It
was less specific on U.N. sanctions, one of the main sticking points
in the negotiations, saying only that they could be reimposed in the
event of Iranian non-compliance.
(Additional reporting by John Irish, Parisa Hafezi, Leigh Thomas and
Ori Lewis; Writing by David Stamp; Editing by Peter Graff)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
