"We have reached an agreement"

At about 4 in the morning in Geneva, the Foreign Ministers the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Counci [the worlds only recognized nuclear powers], plus Germany, plus the European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton, stood before the press in the Palais des Nations in Geneva to affirm the earlier Tweet by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif announcing that they had agreed on a deal.
@JZarif 24 Nov — “We have reached an agreement”.

The deal is a six-month first phase in a process that is expected to last about a year…

U.S. President Barack Obama said in a televised address after the agreement was announced that it’s “an important first step toward a comprehensive solution that addresses our concerns with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program. Since I took office, I’ve made clear my determination to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon”.

Obama added: “Over the next six months, we will work to negotiate a comprehensive solution. We approach these negotiations with a basic understanding: Iran, like any nation, should be able to access peaceful nuclear energy. But because of its record of violating its obligations, Iran must accept strict limitations on its nuclear program that make it impossible to develop a nuclear weapon. In these negotiations, nothing will be agreed to unless everything is agreed to. The burden is on Iran to prove to the world that its nuclear program will be exclusively for peaceful purposes…now we must use the months ahead to pursue a lasting and comprehensive settlement that would resolve an issue that has threatened our security — and the security of our allies — for decades”. The full text of Obama’s remarks is posted here.

To explain, Iran’s FM Javad Zarif also Tweeted:
Javad Zarif @JZarif 24 Nov — The right to enrichment emanates from the inalienable right in NPT, defined by 2010 NPT Review Conference to include fuel cycle activities.

The Iranian Foreign Minister added:

Javad Zarif @JZarif 24 Nov — 2010 NPT Review: each country’s policies and choices with regard to peaceful nuclear energy including its fuel cycle policies should be respected

Javad Zarif @JZarif 24 Nov — US and all other E3+3 joined the 2010 consensus at the NPT Review Conference. The right was first recognized by consensus in 1978 by SSODI

The full text of the deal was published first by the Fars News Agency here, and then picked up with a caveat by Reuters here. It wasn’t until many hours later that it was also posted on the European Union’s website here.

The White House published only a “Fact Sheet”, here, which appears to be a list of U.S. talking points on the first phase of this deal.

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