Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran and the world powers have finally agreed on a long-awaited deal on Tehran’s nuclear energy program, after days of intense talks in Geneva.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s spokesman, Michael Mann, also announced a nuclear agreement with Iran.
The Iranian foreign minister added that the nuclear crisis is abating.
The deal was announced on Sunday morning after the intense nuclear talks between Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — plus Germany, originally scheduled to end on Friday, entered into the fifth day.
The interim deal also allows for Iran to continue its activities in its nuclear sites in the cities of Arak, Fordo, and Natanz.
According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the agreement also stipulates that no additional sanctions will be imposed on Iran due to its nuclear energy program.
Iran will also receive access to USD 4.2 billion in foreign exchange as part of the nuclear deal.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, said the agreement recognizes the country’s “enrichment program.”
Araqchi had earlier emphasized that Tehran could not accept any deal that did not recognize Iran’s enrichment right.
The landmark agreement was reached in Tehran’s third nuclear negotiations with the world powers since Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took office in August.
Copyright Iran Review 2014
