President Barack Obama said that the framework agreement announced Thursday between Iran and six world powers is a “good deal” that will increase Iran’s nuclear breakout time from around two to three months to more than a year.
But, of course, the devil’s in the details. Here they are, according to “parameters” of the deal distributed by the State Department:
Nuclear Materials
Iran will hand over two-thirds of its 19,000 centrifuges to the International Atomic Energy Agency, leaving a total of 6,104 of its first-generation model centrifuge, with only 5,060 actually enriching uranium for the next 10 years. For the next 15 years, the Islamic Republic has agreed not to enrich any uranium above the level of 3.67 percent, far too low for a nuclear weapon.
Of Iran’s approximately 10,000 kg supply of low-enriched uranium, which can be used for a reactor but not a bomb, it will retain only 300 kg for the next 15 years.
The details of the agreement provided by the State Department does not specify how Iran must reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium, however — be it by shipping the material to another country, such as Russia, or diluting it inside Iran.
Nuclear Facilities and Reactors
The agreement stipulates that Natanz will be the only remaining nuclear enrichment facility in Iran. There, the 5,060 first-generation centrifuges will spin for the next 10 years. All of the rest of the site’s centrifuges will be removed.
Iran has agreed not to enrich uranium at Fordow for the next 15 years — instead, the underground facility will be converted into a scientific research center employing no enriched uranium. The facility will lose nearly two-thirds of its centrifuges and none of the remaining centrifuges will be permitted to enrich uranium.
According to the State Department, the heavy water reactor in Arak will be repurposed for nuclear research and radioisotope production. The core of the reactor — designed to produce plutonium — will either be destroyed or taken out of the country.
Additionally, Iran has agreed not to build any new enrichment facilities or another heavy water reactor for the next 15 years.
Inspections
Under the deal, the State Department said that the IAEA will have ongoing access to each of Iran’s nuclear facilities and will oversee the Iranian nuclear program’s supply chain. All of the centrifuges and other infrastructure removed from Iran will be placed under IAEA control.
The inspectors will also be able to inspect Iran’s uranium mines and mills for the next 25 years. Iran’s centrifuge manufacturing facilities will be frozen and remain under surveillance.
Additionally, Iran has agreed to allow the IAEA to investigate any allegations of secret sites for nuclear production, centrifuge production, or yellowcake production.
The framework agreement is vague, however, on what kind of accounting Iran has agreed to provide of its past nuclear weapons work, if any. Iran has long refused to give any details about military aspects of its nuclear program, insisting its efforts are “exclusively peaceful.”
Sanctions
Sanction relief for Iran will depend on verification of its cooperation with the agreement, the State Department said.
The U.S. and EU have agreed to suspend their sanctions upon IAEA verification. But U.S. officials say those sanctions can be reapplied. As Obama put it, “If Iran violates the deal, sanctions can be snapped back into place.”
Upon Iran’s completion of its agreements about dismantling its program, all U.N. Security Council resolutions on the subject will be lifted.
The agreement will not address U.S. sanctions on Iran over human rights concerns, ballistic missile development, and terrorism. Those sanctions “will continue to be fully enforced,” Obama said Thursday.
Timeline
The provisions about limited enrichment capacity will last for 10 years. For 15 years, Iran will not construct any new facilities or reactors and will limit its cache of enriched uranium, verifiable by international monitors.
Inspections and other transparency measures, the agreement stipulates, will continue for more than 15 years. Oversight of Iran’s uranium supply chain will continue for 25 years.
Even after the nuclear deal’s provisions expire, Iran will continue to be a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which prohibits the procurement of a nuclear weapon.
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