Joint Plan of Action

Catherine Ashton, the P5+1 and Iranian negotiators in Geneva.

On 24 November 2013, an interim agreement was signed between the P5+1 countries and Iran in Geneva, Switzerland. It consists of a short-term freeze of portions of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions on Iran, as the countries work towards a long-term agreement. It represents the first formal agreement between the U.S. and Iran in 34 years.

Background

Main article: Nuclear program of Iran

The nuclear program of Iran has been a matter of contention with the international community since 2002, when an Iranian dissident group revealed the existence of two undeclared nuclear facilities.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, charged with monitoring and ensuring peaceful nuclear activities, referred the matter of Iran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council in February 2006, after finding that Iran had not been in compliance with its duties as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). For what the IAEA judged to be continued non-compliance, the UN Security Council has voted four times since 2006 to impose limited economic sanctions against Iran. In addition, the United States and European Union have voluntarily imposed additional sanctions against Iran, targeting its natural resource exports (particularly oil and natural gas), petrochemical, aerospace and automotive industries, banking system, and access to international finance.

Iran held a presidential election in June 2013 that was won by Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who emphasized the need for Iran to reach a diplomatic accord with the international community over its nuclear program and reverse Iran's international isolation.

In addition, the Associated Press reported in November 2013 that officials in the Obama administration had been in contact secretly with Iranian officials throughout 2013 about the feasibility of an agreement over the Iranian atomic program. The report said that American and Iranian officials met face-to-face five times in Oman. Obama informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of these talks when Netanyahu visited the White House on 30 September, 2013.

Negotiations

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry takes notes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at the Geneva negotiations.

Main article: P5+1

Previous talks between Iran and the P5+1, chaired by European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton, were held in the Kazakh city of Almaty on 26–27 February 2013 and 5–6 April, in the Turkish city of Istanbul on 17–18 March, and in Geneva on 7–8 November—all without agreement. The sides agreed to meet again on 20 November.

The 20 November negotiations were attended at the foreign minister level by the participant countries.

The talks opened with a short introduction from Lady Ashton and the leader of the Iranian delegation, foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, before the sides began bilateral discussions.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, were present for the Geneva talks but were not announced. They stayed at a separate hotel and entered through service doors. Burns and Sullivan were key members of the back channel that President Obama sent to Oman to meet with Iranian officials. Burns was reported to be "in the driver's seat" of the American negotiating team, even though it was officially being led by Kerry and Wendy Sherman. Burns had met secretly with Iranian officials as far back as 2008, when then-President George W. Bush dispatched him.

Agreement provisions

The interim Geneva Accord was signed between P5+1 countries and the Islamic Republic of Iran on 24 November 2013. The deal consists of the short-term freezing of key parts of the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for a decrease in sanctions, as both sides work towards a long-term agreement. Iran will stop enriching uranium beyond 5%, and will stop development of their Arak nuclear power plant. The UN will be granted greater access for inspections. In exchange, Iran will receive relief from sanctions of approximately US$7 billion (£4.3 billion) and no additional sanctions will be imposed. President Obama called the agreement an "important first step."

The agreement sets a six-month time frame for Iran to dilute its uranium that is enriched to 20%, and for a more comprehensive follow-up agreement between Iran and the P5+1 negotiators to formalize Iran's nuclear relationship with the world.

The terms do not bar Iran from manufacturing components for their nuclear facilities off-site, as long as none of those components are installed. Western diplomats said the impact of this "loophole" would be very minor and could serve as a test of Iranian intentions.

"Right to enrich"

The NPT recognizes the right of all nations to pursue peaceful nuclear energy, but does not specifically mention whether nations have the right to enrich uranium. Uranium enrichment is necessary for producing nuclear energy and for use in research reactors, which produce medical isotopes to treat cancer, but it is also a possible means of creating fissile material for a nuclear weapon. Iran has a nuclear power plant at Bushehr, and a nuclear research reactor.

Iran's interpretation of the NPT is that enrichment is a guaranteed right. Negotiations were at a standstill for a period, as Western countries did not want to explicitly endorse this interpretation, but Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei insisted that the right to enrich was a "red line" for the Iranian side. The negotiators were forced to find compromise language to resolve the impasse.

After the agreement was concluded, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that the pact ensures Iran's right to enrich. Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman agreed with this assessment of the language in the agreement, although he was displeased by it.

By contrast, Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the American negotiation team, disputed that the agreement guaranteed a "right to enrich." Iran expert Ray Takeyh agreed, saying that his reading of the agreement showed that enrichment is "respected in practice but not acknowledged just yet."

The document's English text does not use the phrase "right to enrich" or any variant thereof. The text reads as follows:

This comprehensive solution would enable Iran to fully enjoy its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under the relevant articles of the NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) in conformity with its obligations therein.

International reception

Arab nations Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and the Palestinian Authority have come out in favor of the temporary agreement. Lebanon also hailed the agreement, while emphasizing that Israel should also sign the NPT and rid itself of its nuclear weapons arsenal. Turkey, India and Pakistan have also welcomed the framework agreement.

Reaction from Israeli government politicians was negative. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the accord a "historic mistake," and intelligence minister Yuval Steinitz compared it to failed nuclear negotiations with North Korea. Considering the way Washington handled the deal with Iran The Jerusalem Post questioned whether Netanyahu would "place Israel's security in the hands of US guarantees". Leader of the opposition Isaac Herzog criticized Netanyahu's reaction as bad for Israel's relations with the United States, although Herzog also said that Obama was partly to blame for not communicating more closely with Israel.

Saudi Arabia, a regional rival of Iran, welcomed the agreement. The Saudi cabinet released a statement which read, in part: "The government of the kingdom sees that if there was goodwill, this agreement could represent a preliminary step towards a comprehensive solution to the Iranian nuclear program."

Reaction from the U.S. Congress was mixed. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Peter King were sharply critical of the agreement. Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Adam Smith were more positive. Speaker John Boehner and Democrat Eliot Engel were cautious. Reactions from Canada were "skeptical", with Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird saying Iran "has not earned the right to have the benefit of the doubt."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hailed the interim agreement as the potential "beginnings of a historic agreement."

Hezbollah published a decleration and stated this is a triumph for Iran.

See also

• List of Middle East peace proposals

External Links

• "Full text of Iran 5+1 Geneva Agreement 2013" at Global Security.