DUSHANBE, July 15, 2015, Asia-Plus — Tajik President Emomali Rahmon yesterday sent a cable of congratulations to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the occasion of a landmark deal reached on the Ian nuclear program, according to the Tajik president’s official website.
Rahmon, in particular, noted in his message that “the victory of constructive thinking in this issue is the victory of human wisdom” that will provide peaceful life, development, progress, bright future and clear sky for the whole mankind.
Emomali Rahmon congratulated President Rouhani and the people of Iran on this achievement and wished peace and prosperity to the fraternal country.
International media outlets report that Iran and six world powers have sealed a historic accord to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for ending sanctions, capping two years of tough diplomacy with the biggest breakthrough in relations in decades.
Diplomats from the U.S., China, Russia, the U.K., France and Germany reached the deal with their Iranian counterparts in Vienna on Tuesday, their 18th day of talks.
According to Bloomberg News, President Barack Obama said it blocks “every path to a nuclear weapon” for Iran, while Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called it a “win-win” solution.
Full implementation depends on Iran meeting obligations to curb its nuclear program and address concerns about possible military dimensions of its work. Iran has until December 15 to answer 12-year-old questions about its weapons capabilities. Once inspectors verify compliance, the oil-rich nation will be allowed to ramp up energy exports, re-enter the global financial system and access as much as $150 billion in frozen assets.
Congress has 60 days to review the document in Washington, where it will meet resistance from lawmakers who oppose making any nuclear compromises with Iran.
Israel, which has threatened military action to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, said it will use “every means” possible to persuade Congress to reject it, though Obama vowed to veto such a move. The House and Senate would each need a two-thirds majority to override a veto.
Should the agreement survive review, it would become one of the biggest foreign policy achievements for Obama, who kicked off the initiative with a call to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani almost two years ago. The U.S. cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 1980, after revolutionaries seized the American embassy in Tehran and held hostages for more than a year.
Iran agreed to cut 98 percent of its stockpile of enriched uranium and eliminate two-thirds of its centrifuges, according to a copy of the accord obtained by Bloomberg News,
Relief, including sales of aircraft by companies including Boeing Co., would be phased in after December 15 if Iran complies. The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency will negotiate access to all suspect sites, including military bases such as Parchin.
Once UN monitors verify Iran has taken all steps to curb its nuclear activities, the U.S. and the EU will also lift restrictions on most of its financial institutions except those sanctioned for terrorism or human rights abuses. Iranian banks, including the central bank, will be able to process transactions once again through SWIFT, the leading global financial messaging system, U.S. officials said.
The U.S. and the EU will also allow any nation to buy Iranian oil and ease curbs on trading refined products, chemicals and natural gas. Iran holds the second-largest gas reserves in the world, after Russia.
