By David Cruz
Correspondent
Only time will tell whether this was a game-changing agreement or simply the best bad deal President Obama could get in the waning days of his presidency but, after two years of on and off negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, the president announced this morning that a deal was finally done.
“Today, because America negotiated from a position of strength and principle, we have stopped the spread of nuclear weapons in this region,” the president announced this morning. “Because of this deal, the international community will be able to verify that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon.”
The terms of the 100-page agreement are still being scrutinized but in essence, it calls for Iran to:
• Reduce its current stockpile of low-enriched uranium.
• Reduce the number of centrifuges used to enrich uranium by two-thirds.
• Iran also agrees to restrictions on experimenting on nuclear weapons-related technologies.
• And to unrestricted inspections by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In return, the International Community:
• Lifts international economic sanctions.
• Lifts the international arms embargo.
• Forms a panel to reinstate sanctions in case of Iranian violations.
The president stressed that the deal was about Iran’s nuclear weapons program only and that the country’s actions in the region are a separate matter. Nonetheless, reaction has ranged from wait and see from some of the president’s supporters to outrage.
“The president is playing a dangerous game with our national security,” reads a statement from Gov. Chris Christie, “and the deal as structured will lead to a nuclear Iran and, then, a nuclearized Middle East. The deal threatens Israel, it threatens the United States and it turns 70 years of nuclear policy on its head.”
Before the deal was announced, Democrat Bob Menendez was fearing the worst.
“It concerns me that if the Iranians are now going to have sanctions relieved, their nuclear infrastructure largely stays in place, it’ll be changed somewhat so it can produce less uranium enrichment or that it can’t produce plutonium but if at some point in time in the future you have all the infrastructure in place and you decide to change your programming, well, guess what? That’s very possible,” he said yesterday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has lobbied hard against this deal even before it was completed, called it “a stunning, historic mistake. Israel is not bound by this deal with Iran because Iran continues to seek our destruction. We will always defend ourselves.”
Congress will have 60 days to go over the deal and debate its merits, but the president warned that he will veto any attempt to stop it and it seems unlikely that Congress will be able to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override. Still, the UN and the Iranians have to sign off before this deal is officially done.