| CNN | - |
Geneva,
Switzerland (CNN) -- A historic deal was struck early Sunday between
Iran and six world powers over Tehran's nuclear program that slows the
country's nuclear development program in exchange for lifting some
sanctions while a more formal ...
Obama: Iran nuclear deal limits ability to create nuclear weapons
updated 12:40 AM EST, Sun November 24, 2013
Chief negotiator Catherine Ashton
and Iran's foreign minister announce agreement on Iran's nuclear program
early on Sunday, November 24 in Geneva. From left to right: British
Foreign Secretary William Hague, German Foreign Minister Guido
Westerwelle, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Iranian Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.
HIDE CAPTION
Iran nuclear deal reached
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Iran's foreign minister says Iran retains the right to nuclear technology
- NEW: But it does not retain the right to enrich uranium, Secretary of State John Kerry says
- The deal includes substantial limitations to prevent the creation of nuclear weapons, Obama says
- The deal follows marathon talks that stretched into early Sunday morning
The agreement --
described as an "initial, six-month" deal -- includes "substantial
limitations that will help prevent Iran from creating a nuclear weapon,"
U.S. President Barack Obama said in a nationally televised address.
The deal, which capped
days of marathon talks, addresses Iran's ability to enrich uranium, what
to do about its existing enriched uranium stockpiles, the number and
potential of its centrifuges and Tehran's "ability to produce
weapons-grade plutonium using the Arak reactor," according to a
statement released by the White House.
Iran also agreed to provide "increased transparency and intrusive monitoring of its nuclear program," it said.
There was no immediate
reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has
consistently asked the West to be wary of any deals with Iran.
However, Israeli
Intelligence Minister Yubal Steinitz reiterated the Israeli government
stance when he said Sunday morning that the last-second amendments put
into the agreement are "far from satisfactory."
"This agreement is still
bad and will make it more difficult than before to achieve an
appropriate solution in the future," he said.
Obama reacts to Iran nuclear deal
Iran happy with 'first step'
Iran nuclear deal reached
Reaction to deal in Tehran
Israel reacts to Iran nuke deal
How to enrich uranium into fuel
Obama warned that if Tehran violates terms of the deal, "We will turn off the relief and ratchet up the pressure."
You can be sure that President Obama will speak to Prime Minister Netanyahu" on Sunday about the Iran agreement,
A senior administration official said Obama will speak with Netanyahu sometime Sunday.
"Ultimately, we
understand why Israel is particularly skeptical about Iran," the
official said, adding, "This is not simply about trusting the Iranian
government. There are strict verification measures."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the deal an opportunity "to avert an unnecessary crisis."
Zarif said he hopes the nuclear agreement will lead to "concrete steps" to improve relations between Iran and Western powers.
As part of the deal,
according to Zarif, Iran retains the right to nuclear technology,
including the enriching of uranium under the terms of the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons -- which requires it not to create
nuclear weapons or enable other countries to obtain them.
Iran has agreed to what
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described as "unprecedented
international monitoring" of its nuclear program.
"The first step, let me
be clear, does not say that Iran has a right to enrich uranium," Kerry
said, appearing to contradict claims earlier by Iran's Deputy Foreign
Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
Araghchi -- on Twitter feed commonly attributed to him by Iranian media -- said that "our enrichment program was recognized."
In exchange for Iran's
concessions, sanctions on its oil revenues will be eased. But Kerry said
the agreement does not roll back the "vast majority of the sanctions
that are currently in place."
The deal was formally
announced by Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, in Geneva
where the foreign ministers representing Iran, the United States,
Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany were meeting.
But closed-door negotiations had been taking place for a while.
A senior administration
official told CNN that in the months leading up to the Geneva talks,
U.S. and Iranian officials held private, previously unknown discussions
to generate ideas for the wider P5+1 negotiations.
The official said talks
began after Hassan Rouhani was elected Iran's president, and that as the
discussions were occurring, U.S. officials were briefing the P5+1
partners. The official suggested other partners were meeting with the
Iranians and briefing the U.S. about the progress of those discussions.
The Iran nuclear deal is
a first step requiring actions by both sides, which have "a strong
commitment to negotiate a final comprehensive solution," Ashton said.
According to a statement
released by the White House, the deal halts Tehran's nuclear program,
including halting the development at the Arak reactor and requiring all
of the uranium enriched to 20% -- close to weapons-grade -- to be
diluted so it cannot be converted for military purposes.
The Arak heavy water reactor under construction southwest of Tehran had been a sticking point in earlier negotiations.
For years, Iran and Western powers have left negotiating tables in disagreement, frustration and at times open animosity.
But the diplomatic tone
changed with the transfer of power after Iran's election this year,
which saw President Hassan Rouhani replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Caustic jabs at the United States and bellicose threats toward Israel were a hallmark of Ahmadinejad's foreign policy rhetoric.
He lambasted the West
over the economic sanctions crippling Iran's economy and at the same
time, pushed the advancement of nuclear technology in Iran.
Rouhani has struck up a more conciliatory tone and made the lifting sanctions against his country a priority.
Despite the sanctions,
Iran today has 19,000 centrifuges and is building more advanced ones,
according to Mark Hibbs, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace.
Most world powers believe that Iran could not realistically build a usable bomb in less than a year, Hibbs said.
Jim Sciutto is in Geneva, and Chelsea J.
Carter reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's David Simpson, Greg
Botelho, Neda Farshbaf, Tom Dunlavey, Alexander Fenton and Jim Acosta
contributed to this report.
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