Special Edition: Breakthrough with Iran, Framework Reached

What’s in the deal -White House fact sheet: “Parameters for a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Nuclear Program” http://1.usa.gov/1FndREE

Highlights:

• Iran agreed to go from 19,000 total installed centrifuges to 6,104 first-generation centrifuges.
• Iran agreed to not enrich uranium over 3.75%.
• Iran agreed to reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium from 10,000 kg to 300 kg.
• Iran’s breakout timeline would be extended from the current 2-3 months to at least one year.
• Iran agreed to not use its Fordow facility for enrichment.
• Iran will implement the Additional Protocol, providing IAEA greater access to declared and undeclared facilities.
• Iran agreed to redesign and rebuild its heavy water reactor in Arak to not produce weapons-grade plutonium.
• The restrictions are phased to last 10-25 years while other limitations, like Iran’s IAEA safeguards requirements, are more permanent.

President Obama - “This framework would cut off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran will face strict limitations on its program, and Iran has also agreed to the most robust and intrusive inspections and transparency regime ever negotiated for any nuclear program in history. So this deal is not based on trust, it’s based on unprecedented verification.”

--“So when you hear the inevitable critics of the deal sound off, ask them a simple question: Do you really think that this verifiable deal, if fully implemented, backed by the world’s major powers, is a worse option than the risk of another war in the Middle East? Is it worse than doing what we’ve done for almost two decades, with Iran moving forward with its nuclear program and without robust inspections? I think the answer will be clear.” http://1.usa.gov/1aowTAb

Secretary Kerry - “We still have a lot of work to do. We have agreed on the most challenging and overarching issues, but now there are a number of technical decisions that need to be made, and there are still policy decisions that have to be made. But we have the outline; we have the basic framing, if you will – the construction. And as we continue on, the United States and our P5+1 partners will exhibit the same vigilance, the same unity of purpose, the same comprehensive approach, and the same good faith among us that has brought us this far.” http://1.usa.gov/1HqpFWB

Secretary Moniz - “America’s leading nuclear experts at the Department of Energy and its national labs and sites were involved throughout these negotiations, evaluating and developing technical proposals to help define negotiating positions in support of the US delegation. As a result, I’m pleased to say that we are very confident in the technical underpinnings of this arrangement.” http://1.usa.gov/1Fnujoe

Mogherini & Zarif - Joint Statement by EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif Switzerland http://bit.ly/1FnrymU

Expert Support:

--“This understanding nonetheless stands as a singular accomplishment of our time, negotiated in good faith, with both sides achieving the maximum attainable under the circumstances. To ensure that this laudable step will lead to a lasting accord, we urge the negotiators to preserve the momentum and promptly finalise the remaining details – as well as critics to give them a chance,” said Samuel Berger, Carl Bildt, Emma Bonino, Micheline Calmy-Rey, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Thomas Pickering and Javier Solana in an open letter to the negotiators. http://bit.ly/1BSM6z9

--“Skeptics, including me, should be pleasantly surprised…I think this on the surface looks to be a good agreement.” Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass in a BBC interview. http://bbc.in/1IaWRVO

--“It is a powerful beginning to creating a full agreement, and creating the prospect for broader stability in other areas… This proposal should not be a subject for partisan wrangling or outside political exploitation. It should be the subject of objective analysis of the agreement, our intelligence and future capabilities to detect Iran’s actions, IAEA capabilities to verify, and enforcement provisions if Iran should cheat. No perfect agreement was ever possible and it is hard to believe a better option was negotiable. In fact, it may be a real victory for all sides: A better future for Iran, and greater security for the U.S., its Arab partners, Israel, and all its other allies,” writes Anthony Cordesman of CSIS. http://bit.ly/1NMPvIk

Top Editorials:

--“A Promising Nuclear Deal With Iran,” by The New York Times. http://nyti.ms/1IZLKfV

--“Deal offers chance to ease Iran’s nuclear threat: Our view,” by USA Today http://usat.ly/1EQRfyJ

--“Give the Iran nuclear deal a chance” by The LA Times. http://lat.ms/1NMyYnL

--“A Promising Iran Agreement,” by Bloomberg. http://bv.ms/1BWwmfq

--“Outline of Iran deal offers the best chance to thaw relations” by The Boston Globe. http://bit.ly/1Hspni0

Top Commentary:

--“How Obama can win on Iran” by Nicholas Burns in The Boston Globe. http://bit.ly/1I8CJDB

--“A critical deal with Iran, but more work to be done,” by John Kerry in The Boston Globe. http://bit.ly/1xG9FQj

--“The Deal of a Lifetime” by Fred Kaplan at Slate. http://slate.me/1aoD1IV

--“The Benefits of Mutual Distrust” by George Perkovich in POLITICO. http://politi.co/1DuQ0Fm

-- “The Fruits of Diplomacy With Iran,” by Bill Burns in the New York Times. http://nyti.ms/1FpHvZY

--“Iran nuclear deal is historic achievement for U.S. national security,” by Joe Cirincione in the New York Daily News. http://nydn.us/1Ivl2L9

Congressional Reactions:

--Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV): “Now is the time for thoughtful consideration, not rash action that could undermine the prospects for success. We have much to learn about what was negotiated and what will take place between now and the end of June. In the coming days and weeks, we should all take a deep breath, examine the details and give this critically important process time to play out.” http://1.usa.gov/1MHhRXk

--Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL): “I'm encouraged to hear that negotiators have agreed to a framework—a major step toward achieving a final deal...The stakes couldn't be higher and I commend Secretary Kerry and our entire negotiating team for their commitment to finding a diplomatic solution that guarantees our security and that of our allies.”link

--Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA): ““There is no realistic solution to Iran’s nuclear program outside of a verifiable, broad-based and ironclad diplomatic agreement. After being briefed and reviewing the parameters, I believe the negotiators have made substantial progress and that this is a sufficient framework to produce a final agreement by the end of June.” http://1.usa.gov/19MNhcC

--Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA): “Congress has a choice: support these negotiations or disrupt them and potentially jeopardize this historic opportunity to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.” http://1.usa.gov/19MEyXS

--Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN): “Peaceful diplomacy, especially at a time when the divide between the United States and Iran is so wide, is always preferable to war. This agreement shows that there is political will on all sides to cross the finish line to a final agreement.” http://1.usa.gov/1MH7xOW

--Sen. Corker (R-TN): “It is important that we wait to see the specific details of today’s announcement, and as the P5-plus-one works toward any final deal, we must remain clear-eyed [on Iran’s concerning behavior].” http://1.usa.gov/1CfUCIt

--Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR): “There is no nuclear deal or framework with Iran; there is only a list of dangerous U.S. concessions that will put Iran on the path to nuclear weapons.” http://1.usa.gov/1EMtQPb

--Full list of statements of support: http://bit.ly/1y4nkBg