After weeks of non-stop negotiations that began before and then carried on well after the U.S. imposed June 30 deadline, the six-nation committee announced Tuesday that a final deal had been agreed to with Iran.
The details of the deal which had been tentatively structured back in April end a years-long set of economic sanctions from the nations that have severely stunted economic growth.
Among the stipulations are steep limitations on Iran’s nuclear development program in exchange for the removal of bans on oil exports to the six world powers.
Additionally, Iran will be required to reduce its uranium holdings to near zero levels and to reduce its nuclear centrifuges to a third of current numbers.
Critics, however, pounced on the news as a failure by world leaders to hold the line on tough restrictions for Iran, given that there will be almost nothing stopping rapid nuclear development at the end of the 15-year agreement.
An additional criticism, voiced by Commentary‘s John Podhoretz, is that the sanctions President Obama has promised in the case of an Iranian violation of the agreement will only be reimposed “after a U.N. commission meets and agrees such violations have happened and then imposes them — which you know Russia will never allow.”
Vowing to kill the deal, Republican congressional leaders reacted quickly to what they argue amounts to President Obama’s overreaching attempt at legacy building at the expense of global security.
