Thaw in Iran-US relations as ‘historic nuclear deal’ inked

The deal commits Iran to curb its nuclear activities for six months in exchange for limited and gradual sanctions relief. The six-month period will give diplomats time to negotiate a more sweeping agreement. 

It builds on the momentum of the public dialogue opened during September’s annual UN gathering, which included a 15-minute phone conversation between President Barack Obamaand Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani. 

Obama hailed the pact’s provisions, which include curbs on Iran’s enrichment and other projects that could be used to make nuclear arms, as key to preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear threat. 

‘Simply put, they cut off Iran’s most likely paths to a bomb,’ he told reporters.  Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who led his country’s delegation, called on both sides to see the agreement as an ‘opportunity to end an unnecessary crisis and open new horizons’. 

However, initial reaction in Israel was strongly negative. Intelligence minister Yuval Steinitz, who is responsible for monitoring Iran’s nuclear program, said the deal was based on ‘Iranian deception and self-delusion’. 

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has loudly criticized the agreement, saying the international community is giving up too much to Iran, which it believes will retain the ability to produce a nuclear weapon and threaten Israel. 

Secretary of state John Kerry, who joined the final negotiations along with the foreign ministers of Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, said the pact will make US allies in the MiddleEast, including Israel, safer. 

‘Agreement in Geneva,’ he tweeted. ‘First step makes world safer. More work now.’  The deal marks a milestone between the two countries, which broke diplomatic ties 34 years ago when Iran’s Islamic revolution climaxed in the storming of the US embassy in Tehran. Since then, relations between the two countries have been frigid to hostile — until the recent outreach between the two presidents.