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[catman]

Geneva, Switzerland (CNN) -- A historic deal was struck early Sunday between Iran and six world powers over Tehran's nuclear program, a first step in ending a decades-long standoff over the country's nuclear intentions.

The agreement was expected to be signed within hours, capping days of marathon talks in which diplomats worked to overcome issues surrounding the wording of an initial agreement that reportedly would temporarily freeze Iran's nuclear development program and lift some sanctions while a more formal deal is worked out.

"At three o'clock in the morning on the fifth day, white smoke in the negotiations!" Iran Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a post on Twitter.

The spokesman for the European Union, Michael Mann, also took to Twitter to tout the success: "We have reached agreement."

Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, formally announced the agreement in Geneva where the foreign ministers representing Iran, the United States, Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany were meeting.

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 senior U.S. administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, the deal halts Tehran's nuclear program, including halting the development at the Arak reactor and requiring all of the uranium enriched to 20 percent -- close to weapons-grade -- to be diluted so it cannot be converted for military purposes.

But there were conflicting reports about whether Iran's right to enrich uranium had been recognized.

The senior administration official said the deal does not recognize the right, while Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi -- on a Twitter feed commonly attributed to him by Iranian media -- said that "our enrichment program was recognized."

"Congratulation to my nation which stood tall and resisted for the last 10 years," Araghchi said in the post.

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.

[Ya-ta Boy]

The freeze would last six months, with the aim of giving international negotiators time to pursue the far more challenging task of drafting a comprehensive accord that would ratchet back much of Iran’s nuclear program and ensure that it could be used only for peaceful purposes...

According to the accord, Iran would agree to stop enriching uranium beyond 5 percent. To make good on that pledge, Iran would dismantle the links between networks of centrifuges.

All of Iran’s stockpile of uranium that has been enriched to 20 percent, a short hop to weapons-grade fuel, would be diluted or converted into oxide so that it could not be readily used for military purposes.

No new centrifuges, neither old models nor newer more efficient ones, could be installed. Centrifuges that have been installed but which are not currently operating — Iran has more than 8,000 such centrifuges — could not be started up. No new enrichment facilities could be established.

The agreement, however, would not require Iran to stop enriching uranium to a level of 3.5 percent or dismantle any of its existing centrifuges.

Iran’s stockpile of such low-enriched uranium would be allowed to temporarily increase to about eight tons from seven tons currently. But Tehran would be required to shrink this stockpile by the end of the six-month agreement back to seven tons. This would be done by installing equipment to covert some of that stockpile to oxide.

To guard against cheating, international monitors would be allowed to visit the Natanz enrichment facility and the underground nuclear enrichment plant at Fordo on a daily basis to check the film from cameras installed there.

In return for the initial agreement, the United States has agreed to provide $6 billion to $7 billion in sanctions relief, American officials said. This limited sanctions relief can be accomplished by executive order, allowing the Obama administration to make the deal without having to appeal to Congress, where there is strong criticism of any agreement that does not fully dismantle Iran’s nuclear program...

The agreement reflected compromises on key issues.

Iran would agree not to produce fuel for its heavy water reactor it is building near Arak or put it into operation. But it would not be required to stop all construction at the plant.

In a nod to Iran, the agreement does not preclude Tehran from making new centrifuges. But it allows international inspectors to monitor the assembly and production of centrifuges to guard against the possibility that Iran might stockpile the machines so it could vastly expand its enrichment capability as soon as the agreement lapsed...

To guard against cheating, international monitors would be allowed to visit the Natanz enrichment facility and the underground nuclear enrichment plant at Fordo daily to check the film from cameras installed there.

But Iran did not agree to all of the intrusive inspection that the International Atomic Energy Agency had said is needed to ensure that the Iranian program is peaceful.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/world/middleeast/talks-with-iran-on-nuclear-deal-hang-in-balance.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

Setting aside the hair-on-fire outrage from the Rapture/Armaggedon/Apocalypse crowd that we will no doubt hear from over the next few weeks, this sounds like a good deal. I can't claim to be any kind of expert on the Iranian nuke issue, but if professional diplomats from 6 countries can agree on something, then it's most likely a sound deal.

Note to self: Check back in in 6 months.

[Popocatepetl]

[recessiontime]

That relief aid is just frozen Iranian Money. The US isn't providing any actual aid, just giving back what they've taken.

If anything this is just a count down to invasion.

[Ya-ta Boy]

This is something of what I mentioned:

[Kuros]

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Titus]

Zionistan will do everything it can to destroy the deal. I am going to enjoy watching the media melt-downs and freakouts. The hysteria has already started. Better tv than the Dolphins game.

The sole hope I had for Hope and Change was that he'd ignore the Zion warmongering machine and not attack Iran. I can not think of a POTUS that has defied Jewish demands so strongly.

But this is the future. The Obama Coalition will not be BFF's with Israel. That was a WASP thing and the WASP are all but gone.

On to the next sucker. http://isteve.blogspot.com/2010/07/china-first-india-next-japan-last.html

[Popocatepetl]

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Titus]

[Titus]

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Kuros]

[Ya-ta Boy]