Iran and a group of six nations led by the USA have today agreed to significantly limit Tehran’s nuclear ability for more than a decade in return for lifting international oil and financial sanctions against the Middle East nation
According to Reuters report, US President Barack Obama has hailed a step towards a ‘more hopeful world’, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said it proved that ‘constructive engagement works’.
The agreement will now be debated in the US Congress, but Obama has assured that he will veto any measure to block it.
“This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction,” Obama said. “We should seize it.”
Under the deal, sanctions imposed by the USA, European Union and United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear programme.
International sanctions imposed to force Iran to curb its nuclear programme have halved its oil exports to just over one million bpd since 2012 and affected its economy.
Rouhani was quick to present the deal as a step on the road towards a wider goal of international cooperation.
“With this unnecessary crisis resolved, new horizons emerge with a focus on shared challenges,” he tweeted.
According to the US President, “History shows that America must lead not just with our might but with our principles. Today’s announcement marks one more chapter in our pursuit of a safer, more helpful and more hopeful world.”
While the main negotiations were between the USA and Iran, the four other UN Security Council permanent members — Britain, China, France and Russia — are also parties to the deal, as is Germany.
Obama said that Iran had accepted a ‘snapback’ mechanism, under which sanctions will be reinstated if it violated the deal. A UN weapons embargo is to remain in place for five years and a ban on buying missile technology will remain for eight years.
Alongside the deal, the United Nations nuclear watchdog — International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — announced an agreement with Iran to resolve its own outstanding issues by the end of this year. The main deal depends on the IAEA being able to inspect Iranian nuclear sites and on Iran answering its questions about possible military aims of previous research.
However, oil prices tumbled more than a dollar on Tuesday after the deal was reached.
“Even with a historic deal, oil from Iran will take time to return, and will not be before next year, most likely the second half of 2016,” Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at London-based consultancy Energy Aspects, told Reuters. “But given how oversupplied the market is with Saudi Arabia’s output at record highs, the mere prospect of new oil will be bearish for sentiment.”
