A landmark deal has been reached in Switzerland to remove sanctions against Iran.
This was, however prefaced by a big BUT - and I bet that won't be reported by western media. The US still reserves for itself the "right" to bomb Iran, deal or no deal.
Breakthrough
Deal Reached at Iran Nuclear Talks in Lausanne
The
long-awaited solution on Tehran's nuclear program was reached on
Thursday at the latest round of talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne
2
April, 2015
EU
foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said all US and EU
nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran would be lifted.
FM #Steinmeier @FedericaMog @JZarif. @LaurentFabius @PHammondMP + @JohnKerry moments before announcement of #IranDeal
- FM #Steinmeier: All of #Iran’s nuclear activities will be under strictest surveillance of @iaeaorg for up to 25 years. 4/5 #IranTalks
FM #Steinmeier: If #Iran violates the agreed rules, sanctions will be put into force again immediately. 5/5 #IranTalks
The UN Security Council and a number of countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Iran, accusing the country of developing nuclear weapons under a guise of a civilian program, a claim Tehran has repeatedly denied.
At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the United States and the European Union would stop implementing anti-Iranian sanctions, according to the final agreement to be reached by the July 1 deadline.
He said that Tehran would continue enrichment under peaceful nuclear program and within the framework of the agreement. However, there still are differences between Iran and the United States, Zarif noted.
"None of our facilities will be closed," Zarif told reporters following joint press conference in Lausanne.
"We will continue enriching, we will continue research and development, our heavy water reactor will be modernized and we will continue the Fordow facility," he said.
- FM #Steinmeier: After tough negotiations w/ #Iran, we have agreed on framework for final agreement. Important step forward! #IranTalks 1/5
Tehran would sell enriched uranium in exchange for natural uranium, the Iranian foreign minister said.FM #Steinmeier: It is+was our aim to reach reliable pol. agreement that prevents #Iran from gaining access to #NuclearWeapons 2/5 #IranTalks
©
AFP 2015/ POOL / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
Solutions agreed at Iran nuclear talks will create a basis for a future deal between the P5+1 and Tehran, the EU top diplomat said.
The Iranian top diplomat said that resolutions of the United Nations Security Council would be terminated under the future nuclear deal adding that mechanisms would be created to verify that the agreement would be implemented.
Agreements on the Islamic Republic's nuclear issue would be endorsed by a new UN Security Council resolution.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said via Twitter that solutions on key parameters of the Islamic Republic's nuclear issue had been reached.
Solutions on key parameters of Iran #nuclear case reached. Drafting to start immediately, to finish by June 30th. #IranTalks
And here is the BUT
Pentagon
Chief: We Might Bomb Iran Even if Nuclear Deal Reached
2
April, 2015
A
framework deal has been agreed upon by US Secretary of State John
Kerry, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and the other
participating nations. But on Tuesday, when the outcome was far less
certain, Defense Secretary Carter assured the public that no
agreement would entirely eliminate a more aggressive alternative.
“The
military option certainly will remain on the table,” Carter said on
NBC’s Today program. “One of my jobs is to make sure all options
are on the table.”
Military
intervention would be necessary if Iran decided to break the deal,
which sought to limit the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges
Tehran would be allowed to operate. If it was discovered that the
Islamic Republic was operating more centrifuges than agreed upon, and
using that excess uranium to develop nuclear weapons, then an attack
on those enrichment facilities could, theoretically, be an option.
He
also stated that any agreement “can’t be based on trust, it has
to be based on verification,” and that it must be “one that keeps
us and the region safe. If it’s a good agreement to have, obviously
it’s one worth waiting for.”
The
new framework deal agreed upon by negotiators states that Tehran will
be allowed to operate a single enrichment facility in Natanz, and in
exchange, all nuclear-related sanctions against the nation will be
lifted.
During
his appearance, the Defense Secretary also took time to address other
parts of what he called the “confusing, crazy-quilt region” of
the Middle East. In reference to the chaos in Yemen, Carter said the
United States would continue its counterterrorism operations, no
matter the outcome of the Iranian negotiations.
Carters
comments came just after Arizona Senator John McCain suggested that
Israel “go rogue” and resist any deal that the negotiations might
come to.
“The
Israelis will need to chart their own path of resistance. On the
Iranian nuclear deal, they may have to go rogue” McCain said on the
Senate floor. “Let’s hope their warnings have not been mere
bluffs.”
McCain’s
words may encourage a nation already bitterly opposed to the
negotiations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been very vocal
about his distrust of Iran’s intentions.
“This
dangerous deal, as it appears to be emerging, bears out all of our
fears, and even more than that,” Netanyahu said during a speech on
Sunday, as the original March 31 deadline for a framework deal
approached.
After
meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner announced they would put
forth a bill which would require President Obama to get the approval
of Congress before any deal is officiated.
A report from earlier
From RT
And the Guardian....
....But
Israel dismissed the deal, and said it would continue to prevent a
“bad” final agreement.
Strategic
affairs minister Yuval Steinitz said in a statement after the
announcements in Switzerland: “The smiles in Lausanne are detached
from wretched reality in which Iran refuses to make any concessions
on the nuclear issue and continues to threaten Israel and all other
countries in the Middle East.”
Obama
was due to speak to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu
later on Thursday.
Among
the main points of the understanding unveiled in Lausanne are:
- Iran’s infrastructure for uranium enrichment will be reduced by more than two thirds, from 19,000 installed centrifuges, to 6,104, of which only 5,060 will be used for uranium enrichment, for a period of 10 years.
- Iran’s stockpile of low enriched uranium will be reduced by 98% to 300kg for a period of 15 years.
- Iran’s heavy water reactor will be redesigned so it produces only tiny amounts of plutonium.
- Iran’s underground enrichment plant at Fordow will be turned into a research centre for medical and scientific work.
- Iran will be open to enhanced inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency for 20 years.
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