This Washington Post article says it perfectly:
Some people think it's a good deal, some think it's a bad deal, but everyone agrees it's a big deal.
The recent deal reached between the P5+1 (United States, China, Russia, France, United Kingdom, and Germany) and Iran on its nuclear program is monumental. It may not be enough to ensure that Iran is not producing nuclear weapons, but it is a good first step. Iran will restrict its nuclear activities in exchange for relief in sanctions and about $6 billion in unfrozen assets.
The story with Iran's nuclear program is complicated but the bottom line is that Iran has obligations under the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) that it has not upheld. As part of the NPT, Iran has a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in which Iran has to allow inspections of all of its nuclear-related activities. Iran kept its uranium enrichment program a secret from the the world, which obviously raised suspicion. Iran has also not allowed the IAEA full access to its nuclear facilities, thus causing the IAEA to release reports that it cannot conclude that Iran is not using peaceful nuclear facilities for military purposes.
Iran absolutely has the right to peaceful nuclear energy, as stated in the NPT. But they must ensure that it is peaceful by allowing the IAEA full access. Uranium enrichment technology, for example, can be used to make fuel for commercial nuclear reactors, or can be used to make highly-enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon. With this agreement, Iran agrees to halt production of uranium enriched above 5% U-235. 3-5% enriched uranium is all that's needed for commercial fuel. Enriching above 20% starts to be suspect because it could be used for a nuclear weapon.
This agreement is only for 6 months and could lead to subsequent agreements that would ensure that Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful. All signatories to the Nonproliferation Treaty are subject to safeguards by the IAEA and Iran is no exception.
What are your thought's on Iran's nuclear program and this new agreement?
Iran absolutely has the right to peaceful nuclear energy, as stated in the NPT. But they must ensure that it is peaceful by allowing the IAEA full access. Uranium enrichment technology, for example, can be used to make fuel for commercial nuclear reactors, or can be used to make highly-enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon. With this agreement, Iran agrees to halt production of uranium enriched above 5% U-235. 3-5% enriched uranium is all that's needed for commercial fuel. Enriching above 20% starts to be suspect because it could be used for a nuclear weapon.
This agreement is only for 6 months and could lead to subsequent agreements that would ensure that Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful. All signatories to the Nonproliferation Treaty are subject to safeguards by the IAEA and Iran is no exception.
What are your thought's on Iran's nuclear program and this new agreement?
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