Obama hails Iran framework deal as ‘historic’ | World Defense

Obama hails Iran framework deal as ‘historic’

BLACKEAGLE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Dec 5, 2014
Messages
3,623
Reactions
1,989 10 0
Country
Jordan
Location
Jordan
1a9a3540-69ec-47a6-9369-d0780b39ce91_16x9_600x338.jpg

US President Bararck Obama gestures while making a statement at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2015. (AFP)

Staff writer, Al Arabiya News
Thursday, 2 April 2015

U.S. President Barack Obama heralded a framework nuclear agreement with Iran as an “historic” agreement that could pave the way for a final deal that would leave the U.S., its allies and the world safer.

Speaking from the White House Thursday, Obama said the agreement “is a good deal, a deal that meets our core objectives.” He said verification mechanisms built into the framework agreed to in Switzerland hours earlier would ensure that “if Iran cheats, the world with know it.”

Obama has invested significant political capital in the nuclear negotiations. The talks have strained the U.S. relationship with Israel, which sees Tehran as an existential threat, and deepened tensions with Congress.

The president said he would speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reassure him of steadfast U.S. support for Israel’s security despite a landmark nuclear deal with Iran.

Netanyahu had bitterly opposed an agreement between the world powers and Iran.

“There is no daylight when it comes to our support for Israel’s security and our concerns about Iran’s destabilizing policies and threats towards Israel,” Obama said.

One of Obama’s toughest challenges will be convincing lawmakers to hold off on legislation that would authorize new sanctions on Iran. He said his administration would fully brief Congress on the diplomatic efforts, which he called “our best option by far."

Separately, the U.S. Congress must have a say in any final nuclear agreement with the Islamic republic, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Bob Corker said on Thursday.

Corker added that he expected a “strong vote” from the committee in mid-April on legislation that would allow congress to review a final Iran nuclear deal.

In his speech, Obama added that he had invited Gulf leaders to a spring summit at Camp David to discuss security cooperation in the region.

“I’m inviting the leaders of the six countries who make up the Gulf Cooperation Council ... to discuss how we can further strengthen our security cooperation while resolving the multiple conflicts that have caused so much hardship and instability throughout the Middle East,” Obama said as he discussed a landmark nuclear deal with Iran.

Last Update: Friday, 3 April 2015 KSA 00:41 - GMT 21:41
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/04/02/Obama-hails-Iran-framework-as-historic-understanding.html
 

BLACKEAGLE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Dec 5, 2014
Messages
3,623
Reactions
1,989 10 0
Country
Jordan
Location
Jordan
Netanyahu tells Obama Iran deal 'threat to Israel’s survival'

31d8a070-a929-4cf5-a24b-5b137b61a5c3_16x9_600x338.jpg

PM Netanyahu told President Obama an Iran deal "would increase the risks of nuclear proliferation and the risks of a horrific war."

AFP, Jerusalem
Friday, 3 April 2015

The framework nuclear deal agreed with Iran would jeopardize Israel's existence if implemented, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman quoted him as saying to U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday.

"PM Netanyahu to Pres Obama: A deal based on this framework would threaten the survival of Israel," Mark Regev wrote on his official Twitter account.

Regev quoted the Israeli premier as saying in the telephone conversation that the deal as it appears to be emerging "would not block Iran's path to the bomb. It would pave it.

"It would increase the risks of nuclear proliferation and the risks of a horrific war," he added.

The White House quoted Obama as telling Netanyahu that the framework deal between Iran and world powers represented "significant progress."

"The president emphasized that, while nothing is agreed until everything is, the framework represents significant progress towards a lasting, comprehensive solution that cuts off all of Iran's pathways to a bomb," it said.

The White House said Obama spoke to Netanyahu from aboard Air Force One to discuss the framework agreement that would see Iran scale back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Israeli officials earlier branded it a "historic mistake" and "dangerous."

Last Update: Friday, 3 April 2015 KSA 07:42 - GMT 04:42

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/04/03/Netanyahu-tells-Obama-Iran-deal-threat-to-Israel-s-survival-.html
 

BLACKEAGLE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Dec 5, 2014
Messages
3,623
Reactions
1,989 10 0
Country
Jordan
Location
Jordan
Obama calls King Salman to discuss Iran nuclear deal

bd575881-6301-43aa-9155-e6ac09df23fb_16x9_600x338.jpg

President Barack Obama meets new Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdul Aziz in Riyadh. (File photo: Associated)

Staff writer, Al Arabiya News
Friday, 3 April 2015

President Barack Obama called Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Thursday to discuss the deal the United States and international negotiators reached with Iran on its nuclear program, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

King Salman said he hoped to reach a final deal and mandatory accord that would aid in developing regional and international security, a statement said.

The leaders also discussed recent developments in Yemen as Obama reiterated the United States’ full commitment to sustain Saudi Arabia’s capabilities in defending itself.

For his part, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques expressed, over the line, hope to reach a final and mandatory accord conducive to consolidating regional as well as international security and stability.

Obama also invited King Salman and the Gulf Cooperation Council to Camp David for a summit to continue conversations on Iran, Reuters news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the U.S. president hailed the nuclear agreement with Iran as “historic,” adding that it could pave the way for a final deal that would leave the U.S., its allies and the world safer.

Speaking from the White House, Obama said the agreement “is a good deal, a deal that meets our core objectives.” He said verification mechanisms built into the framework agreed to in Switzerland hours earlier would ensure that “if Iran cheats, the world with know it.”

Last Update: Friday, 3 April 2015 KSA 06:51 - GMT 03:51
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/04/03/Obama-calls-King-Salman-to-discuss-Iran-nuclear-deal.html
 

UAE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
1,641
Reactions
929 11 0
Country
USA
Location
United Arab Emirates
Iran lost the deal big time. In ten years or so all GCC will be have their nuclear reactors operational. UAE is in the lead, Saudi Arabia is coming at a light speed.
 

Bubblegum Crisis

Professional
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
200
Reactions
230 5 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
United Kingdom
...

We are very widely winners in this story. All this energy - all these sufferings -, the hundreds of billions dollars spent and lost for this miserable result. We will have the low levels enrichment uranium and before the already high levels of enrichment - over 90% - with the bomb and its delivery vehicles (2). They are exhausted for 36 years (1979) for this lousy result. And even the past 15 years, they will still monitored.

2 - Govt endorses summary to get 8 submarines from China, defence committee told | World Defense

It is the day of a very, very big victory over these dogs mullahs.

By against, they (West) will closer to them (Mullahs) to develop economically and scientifically against us. We will work, in absolutely every area - all sciences and knowledges -, as determined to catch up and overtake the West.

Say around you for all your family and your friends.

Glory and prosperity !



Quote :

Parameters for a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran's Nuclear Program

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
April 2, 2015


Below are the key parameters of a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program that were decided in Lausanne, Switzerland. These elements form the foundation upon which the final text of the JCPOA will be written between now and June 30, and reflect the significant progress that has been made in discussions between the P5+1, the European Union, and Iran. Important implementation details are still subject to negotiation, and nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. We will work to conclude the JCPOA based on these parameters over the coming months.


Enrichment

- Iran has agreed to reduce by approximately two-thirds its installed centrifuges. Iran will go from having about 19,000 installed today to 6,104 installed under the deal, with only 5,060 of these enriching uranium for 10 years. All 6,104 centrifuges will be IR-1s, Iran’s first-generation centrifuge.

- Iran has agreed to not enrich uranium over 3.67 percent for at least 15 years.

- Iran has agreed to reduce its current stockpile of about 10,000 kg of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to 300 kg of 3.67 percent LEU for 15 years.

- All excess centrifuges and enrichment infrastructure will be placed in IAEA monitored storage and will be used only as replacements for operating centrifuges and equipment.

- Iran has agreed to not build any new facilities for the purpose of enriching uranium for 15 years.

- Iran’s breakout timeline – the time that it would take for Iran to acquire enough fissile material for one weapon – is currently assessed to be 2 to 3 months. That timeline will be extended to at least one year, for a duration of at least ten years, under this framework.


Iran will convert its facility at Fordow so that it is no longer used to enrich uranium

- Iran has agreed to not enrich uranium at its Fordow facility for at least 15 years.

- Iran has agreed to convert its Fordow facility so that it is used for peaceful purposes only – into a nuclear, physics, technology, research center.

- Iran has agreed to not conduct research and development associated with uranium enrichment at Fordow for 15 years.

- Iran will not have any fissile material at Fordow for 15 years.

- Almost two-thirds of Fordow’s centrifuges and infrastructure will be removed. The remaining centrifuges will not enrich uranium. All centrifuges and related infrastructure will be placed under IAEA monitoring.


Iran will only enrich uranium at the Natanz facility, with only 5,060 IR-1 first-generation centrifuges for ten years.

- Iran has agreed to only enrich uranium using its first generation (IR-1 models) centrifuges at Natanz for ten years, removing its more advanced centrifuges.

- Iran will remove the 1,000 IR-2M centrifuges currently installed at Natanz and place them in IAEA monitored storage for ten years.

- Iran will not use its IR-2, IR-4, IR-5, IR-6, or IR-8 models to produce enriched uranium for at least ten years. Iran will engage in limited research and development with its advanced centrifuges, according to a schedule and parameters which have been agreed to by the P5+1.

- For ten years, enrichment and enrichment research and development will be limited to ensure a breakout timeline of at least 1 year. Beyond 10 years, Iran will abide by its enrichment and enrichment R&D plan submitted to the IAEA, and pursuant to the JCPOA, under the Additional Protocol resulting in certain limitations on enrichment capacity.


Inspections and Transparency

- The IAEA will have regular access to all of Iran’s nuclear facilities, including to Iran’s enrichment facility at Natanz and its former enrichment facility at Fordow, and including the use of the most up-to-date, modern monitoring technologies.

- Inspectors will have access to the supply chain that supports Iran’s nuclear program. The new transparency and inspections mechanisms will closely monitor materials and/or components to prevent diversion to a secret program.

- Inspectors will have access to uranium mines and continuous surveillance at uranium mills, where Iran produces yellowcake, for 25 years.

- Inspectors will have continuous surveillance of Iran’s centrifuge rotors and bellows production and storage facilities for 20 years. Iran’s centrifuge manufacturing base will be frozen and under continuous surveillance.

- All centrifuges and enrichment infrastructure removed from Fordow and Natanz will be placed under continuous monitoring by the IAEA.

- A dedicated procurement channel for Iran’s nuclear program will be established to monitor and approve, on a case by case basis, the supply, sale, or transfer to Iran of certain nuclear-related and dual use materials and technology – an additional transparency measure.

- Iran has agreed to implement the Additional Protocol of the IAEA, providing the IAEA much greater access and information regarding Iran’s nuclear program, including both declared and undeclared facilities.

- Iran will be required to grant access to the IAEA to investigate suspicious sites or allegations of a covert enrichment facility, conversion facility, centrifuge production facility, or yellowcake production facility anywhere in the country.

- Iran has agreed to implement Modified Code 3.1 requiring early notification of construction of new facilities.

- Iran will implement an agreed set of measures to address the IAEA’s concerns regarding the Possible Military Dimensions (PMD) of its program.


Reactors and Reprocessing

- Iran has agreed to redesign and rebuild a heavy water research reactor in Arak, based on a design that is agreed to by the P5+1, which will not produce weapons grade plutonium, and which will support peaceful nuclear research and radioisotope production.

- The original core of the reactor, which would have enabled the production of significant quantities of weapons-grade plutonium, will be destroyed or removed from the country.

- Iran will ship all of its spent fuel from the reactor out of the country for the reactor’s lifetime.

- Iran has committed indefinitely to not conduct reprocessing or reprocessing research and development on spent nuclear fuel.

- Iran will not accumulate heavy water in excess of the needs of the modified Arak reactor, and will sell any remaining heavy water on the international market for 15 years.

- Iran will not build any additional heavy water reactors for 15 years.


Sanctions

- Iran will receive sanctions relief, if it verifiably abides by its commitments.

- U.S. and E.U. nuclear-related sanctions will be suspended after the IAEA has verified that Iran has taken all of its key nuclear-related steps. If at any time Iran fails to fulfill its commitments, these sanctions will snap back into place.

- The architecture of U.S. nuclear-related sanctions on Iran will be retained for much of the duration of the deal and allow for snap-back of sanctions in the event of significant non-performance.

- All past UN Security Council resolutions on the Iran nuclear issue will be lifted simultaneous with the completion, by Iran, of nuclear-related actions addressing all key concerns (enrichment, Fordow, Arak, PMD, and transparency).

- However, core provisions in the UN Security Council resolutions – those that deal with transfers of sensitive technologies and activities – will be re-established by a new UN Security Council resolution that will endorse the JCPOA and urge its full implementation. It will also create the procurement channel mentioned above, which will serve as a key transparency measure. Important restrictions on conventional arms and ballistic missiles, as well as provisions that allow for related cargo inspections and asset freezes, will also be incorporated by this new resolution.

- A dispute resolution process will be specified, which enables any JCPOA participant, to seek to resolve disagreements about the performance of JCPOA commitments.

- If an issue of significant non-performance cannot be resolved through that process, then all previous UN sanctions could be re-imposed.

- U.S. sanctions on Iran for terrorism, human rights abuses, and ballistic missiles will remain in place under the deal.


Phasing

- For ten years, Iran will limit domestic enrichment capacity and research and development – ensuring a breakout timeline of at least one year. Beyond that, Iran will be bound by its longer-term enrichment and enrichment research and development plan it shared with the P5+1.

- For fifteen years, Iran will limit additional elements of its program. For instance, Iran will not build new enrichment facilities or heavy water reactors and will limit its stockpile of enriched uranium and accept enhanced transparency procedures.

- Important inspections and transparency measures will continue well beyond 15 years. Iran’s adherence to the Additional Protocol of the IAEA is permanent, including its significant access and transparency obligations. The robust inspections of Iran’s uranium supply chain will last for 25 years.

- Even after the period of the most stringent limitations on Iran’s nuclear program, Iran will remain a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which prohibits Iran’s development or acquisition of nuclear weapons and requires IAEA safeguards on its nuclear program.

The White House
U.S. Department Of State




...
 
Last edited:

Bubblegum Crisis

Professional
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
200
Reactions
230 5 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
United Kingdom
...

(*_-) *-^ ROFL


Quote :

A step-by-step guide to what the Iran agreement actually means

By Ishaan Tharoor April 2 at 4:56 PM

At last, it's happened in Lausanne. Iranian diplomats and their counterparts from six world powers, including the United States, have emerged with a "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" regarding Iran's nuclear program. This framework of an agreement -- the final deal is supposed to be reached by June 30 -- has been the product of days of intense, closed-door negotiations.

WorldViews explained earlier this week the main sticking points to a deal, which needs to satisfy Western fears over Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon, while providing Iran sanctions relief and allowing it to maintain a peaceable nuclear program. There's still plenty of work to be done, but the diplomatic efforts of the United States and its interlocutors could now lead to a historic opening with the Islamic Republic, whose leadership -- at least some figures within it -- are desperate for closer ties with the West.

Analysts appear surprised by the thoroughness of this framework agreement, which gives proponents of a deal hope that a real pact may be sealed this summer. Here's what you need to know about what this current round of talks has set in place.

1. The main metric bandied about when calculating how to prevent an Iranian atomic bomb is "breakout time" -- that is, the time it would take for Iran to produce enough fissile material (highly enriched uranium) that could make one nuclear weapon. The importance of breakout time as the main criterion to understanding Iran's nuclear ambitions is a matter of debate, and some experts say it's a bit pointless to obsess over it.

But one of the chief goals of any U.S.-backed agreement has been to extend Iran's supposed breakout time from an estimated two to three months right now to at least a year. A larger window gives the international community more time to respond and take tougher action on Iran. And the assumption is that the harder it is for Iran to produce a weapon, the less likely the chance that it will.

2. As far as the United States and its partners are concerned, the measures announced Thursday are centered on making it difficult for Iran to both produce and maintain stocks of highly enriched uranium. Iran has already diluted its stockpile of uranium enriched at 20 percent and agreed to dramatically reduce other stockpiles of low-enriched uranium. But stricter measures are necessary to prevent any move toward a weapon.

3. One way of controlling this is capping Iran's number of centrifuges -- the whirling devices that enrich uranium gas. Under terms outlined Thursday, Iran will reduce its centrifuges from some 19,000 to 6,104. According to a memorandum circulated by American officials, Iran has agreed that, for the next 10 years, it will enrich uranium at only one facility, in Natanz, which has 5,000 first-generation centrifuges. It will not enrich uranium at levels beyond 3.67 percent -- insufficient for a bomb, but useful for nuclear energy purposes -- for 15 years.

4. Iran appears willing also to suspend enrichment activity at the controversial Fordow nuclear facility for 15 years, and will apparently convert the site into a nuclear physics research center. Fordow, situated inside a mountain outside the holy city of Qom, has particularly worried American and Israeli officials. Iranian authorities will guarantee that the heavy-water reactor in Arak, a site where it's feared Iran intends to produce weapons-grade plutonium, will not do so.

5. A very tight regime of international inspections will be imposed. Inspectors from the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, will continuously monitor Iran's centrifuges and nuclear storage facilities for two decades, will have regular access to uranium mines and mills for the next 25 years, and will be able to conduct regular checks on Iran's nuclear sites. "If Iran cheats, the world will know it," said President Obama on Thursday.

6. In return, Iran wins sanctions relief, depending on its ability to follow through with the commitments agreed upon in a final deal. This will likely not happen as swiftly as the Iranians would like, and there seems to be a mechanism by which the sanctions would automatically "snap back" in place should Iran violate the terms of an agreement.
But the promise of the United States and European Union eventually lifting oil and banking sanctions on Iran led to celebrations in Tehran and a dip in the global price of oil on Thursday.

7. Other issues -- including to what extent Iran can use and upgrade more advanced centrifuges, as well as what happens to other military dimensions of its nuclear program -- still need ironing out in the months ahead.

8. The optimism generated by this framework agreement will not be shared by hawks in the United States and Israel, as well as in the Arab states, who still consider Iran a dangerous regional threat. Opponents of a deal in the United States may step up efforts to derail the talks in the coming weeks in Congress. But the Obama administration can point to a pretty solid agreement that keeps Iran's nuclear ambitions "in an iron box," and establishes the means by which the international community may be able to ensure it stays there.


The Washington Post



...
 

thegrey

MEMBER
Joined
Feb 11, 2015
Messages
155
Reactions
37 0 1
Country
USA
Location
USA
I will just say that I don't trust Obama, nor do I trust his motives! I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu is right. I think we should all consider the questions: Who is he making an agreement with? Is anybody considering our history with Iran? I don't like this at all!
 

JPB_003

MEMBER
Joined
Mar 30, 2015
Messages
50
Reactions
9 0 0
Country
USA
Location
USA
Of course he thinks it is historic, it's by his doing!

I think the deal is fine at the moment, but could lead to worse things down the road. The work Israel and the U.S. have are slowly being thrown in the trash, and then what do we have. Iran as allies? HA! They say death to america as much as I drink coffee. It is ridiculous, and Obama does not know his enemies.
 

pwarbi

MEMBER
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Messages
341
Reactions
70 1 0
Country
United Kingdom
Location
United Kingdom
While i dont know all the details of the deal, or what to believe rather, I do think that at the moment the deal, while a bit strange and I'd have thought the last 2 countries to sit down and talk would be the US and Iran, doesn't look that bad for all concerned.

Other countries in the middle east though I feel won't be too keen that all of a sudden Iran is going to be a major player again, not that they ever went away, but they did seem to go a little quiet.

Only time will tell if this was the right thing to do, a lot now depends on how Iran uses its new muscle and if it can be trusted, personally, I'm not that sure it can.
 

Bubblegum Crisis

Professional
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
200
Reactions
230 5 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
United Kingdom
...

You see ! <!?!> *-^


Quote 3 :

Iran nuclear framework agreement: Not a bad deal

Israel will have a hard time fighting this agreement, or portraying it as bad; if Iran upholds the terms, its nuclear threat will be severely mitigated.

By Barak Ravid | Apr. 3, 2015 | 1:02 AM

Thursday night’s dramatic declaration of a framework nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers surprised almost everyone outside of the locked negotiating rooms at the hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland, including the doubtful, cynical journalists waiting outside those rooms over the past eight days for the results. Also surprised, though they’ll never admit it, were many officials, including Israelis, who have vehemently attacked the emerging deal in recent months.

In contrast to the messages conveyed in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at Congress, the Israeli government’s public position over the last two years and the Pavlovian response that came out of Jerusalem on Thursday night, the framework agreement is not a bad deal at all. In-depth examination of the details shows that the deal includes many positive aspects that preserve Israeli security interests and answer some of Jerusalem’s concerns.

Iran perhaps scored some victories in terms of the narrative. Its rights, as it sees them, were respected by the world powers, and Iran can declare that its nuclear facilities won’t be closed, that uranium enrichment will continue, and that the humiliating sanctions will be lifted. But the world powers made significant achievements of their own on the real practical issues.

The framework agreement levels many restrictions on the Iranian nuclear program for generations to come. The Israeli government’s claims that in a decade, Iran’s nuclear program will be normalized in the eyes of the world, and that the Islamic Republic could then do as it wishes, have turned out to be baseless.

Correct, the limitations on the number of centrifuges Iran will be allowed to operate will expire in 10 years’ time. It would have been preferable if that timeframe was longer. However, over the next 15 years, Iran won’t be able to enrich uranium past 3.5 percent, and at that level, it cannot be used for nuclear weapons. The most the Iranians could do with such uranium would be to use it for peaceful purposes, or leave it in storage, collecting dust.

Also, the tight, invasive oversight of Iran’s nuclear program as defined by the framework, which will certainly be fleshed out in the final agreement, includes allowing UN inspectors into every Iranian nuclear facility, as well as uranium mines and storage facilities for a period of between 20 and 25 years.

One positive aspect of the agreement is that Iran agreed to sign and ratify the additional protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which allows the UN to conduct surprise inspections at any facility suspected of housing nuclear activity. The significance is that it will be very difficult for Iran to develop a nuclear program in secret, and if it tries to do so, it will likely be uncovered. Attempts to limit or obstruct inspectors would constitute a gross violation of the agreement, which could lead to reinstatement of the international sanctions.

The agreement includes stipulations that are less easy for Israel to swallow, like the permission to continue research and development of advanced centrifuges, or the removal of economic sanctions and the sanctions leveled by the UN Security Council. But those are not the most critical clauses of the agreement, and they are definitely not ones that cannot be mitigated in a discreet, intimate and non-confrontational dialogue with the Obama administration.

Israel will have a hard time fighting this agreement, or portraying it as bad. One of the reasons for this is that it’s clear to anyone that reads the agreement will understand that if Iran indeed upholds it, the threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon will be severely reduced over the next two decades, at least. Also, it is now clear that the military strike that Netanyahu was pushing for will not be able to achieve the same things as the agreement. It’s doubtful if Netanyahu, who tried to enlist Congress’ support against the agreement, will be able to find 13 Democratic senators who would vote against Obama.

Haaretz


...
 
Top