NUKE DEAL

Combined dispatches

LAUSANNE, Switzerland

Capping a week of difficult and often contentious negotiations, the United States, Iran and five other world powers said Thursday they had agreed on an outline of limits on Iran’s nuclear program that would prevent it from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. The announcement, following talks that burst through a March 31 deadline amid deep uncertainty about the outcome, begins another three months of more-detailed negotiations during which the nations will try to reach a comprehensive final accord to achieve the limits.

The United States, Iran and other countries involved in the effort each hailed the framework, which was reached by weary but upbeat diplomats after seven days of often sleepless nights in Switzerland. Those involved have spent 18 months in broader negotiations that had to be extended twice due to an inability to bridge wide gaps in positions since they reached an interim accord in November 2013. The November deal itself was the product of more than a year of secret negotiations between the Obama administration and Iran, a country the U.S. still accuses of being the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

Speaking at the White House, President Barack Obama called it a “good deal” that would address concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But critics of the emerging deal, including Israel, reacted with skepticism, saying the parameters laid out do not effectively curb Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon, deny it the technology to do so, or mandate the intrusive inspections needed to verify Iranian compliance.

“I am convinced that if this framework leads to a final comprehensive deal, it will make our country, our allies and our world safer,” Obama declared. “It is a good deal, a deal that meets our core objectives.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the agreement today.

Netanyahu, who had been an outspoken critic of the world’s negotiations with Iran, said he voiced his “strong opposition” to the deal in a phone call with Obama.

“A deal based on this framework would threaten the survival of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

Obama sought to stave off criticism, notably from Congress where there is strong opposition to the negotiations by promising to fully brief lawmakers on all the details.

Appearing in the Rose Garden, he said the issues at stake are “bigger than politics.” “These are matters of war and peace, and they should be evaluated based on the facts,” he said.

He also maintained that “if there is backsliding on the part of the Iranians, if the verification and inspection mechanisms don’t meet the specifications of our nuclear and security experts, there will be no deal.”

Several of the agreed-upon restrictions apply to Iran’s enrichment of uranium, a core concern because the material can be used in a nuclear warhead and the conversion of a heavy-water reactor that could produce weapons-grade plutonium, another path to an atomic bomb. Others will prevent any work with uranium at a previously secret facility buried deep underground and the confinement of all uranium activity to one facility that is already being monitored. Many of the limits will be in place for 10 years, others for 15 and 20, and some that are covered by international accords Iran is already party to will be in place for longer.

In return, economic and financial sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear programs are to be rolled back by the U.S., the United Nations and European Union after the U.N. nuclear agency confirms Iran’s compliance.

In the Swiss city of Lausanne where the framework was presented, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif read out a joint statement, hailing what they called a “decisive step” after more than a decade of work.