US credited with ‘secret negotiations’ with Iran to get nuclear deal done

Journalists were asked by the Obama administration to keep the details of the “secret diplomacy” out of the headlines until the deal was done. Now the Nov. 24 Guardian article pulls away the proverbial curtain, revealing what’s in the deal.

Described as “arguably the most important foreign policy achievement” of President Obama’s presidency, the writer itemized the release of $4 billion in frozen assets, suspending restrictions on trading gold and manufacturing items. In return the Iranians agreed the following terms over the next six months:

• To stop enriching uranium above 5% reactor-grade, and dilute its stock of 20%-enriched uranium – a major proliferation concern.

• Not to increase its stockpile of low-enriched uranium.

• To freeze its enrichment capacity by not installing any more centrifuges, leaving more than half of its existing 16,000 centrifuges inoperable.

• Not to fuel or to commission the heavy-water reactor it is building in Arak or build a reprocessing plant that could produce plutonium from the spent fuel.

• To accept more intrusive nuclear inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, including daily visits to some facilities.

“While today’s announcement is just a first step, it achieves a great deal,” Obama said in an address from the White House. “For the first time in nearly a decade, we have halted the progress of the Iranian nuclear program, and key parts of the program will be rolled back.”

It was also noted that Obama has phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the deal with Iran. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters travelling on Air Force One with Obama that the US “looks forward to consulting with its ally Israel on international negotiations with Tehran”. Earnest says the White House understands Israel’s scepticism.

This is the biggest agreement between the two nations since the Iranian revolution in 1979.

 Full coverage from the Guardian HERE

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