Iranian nuclear deal reached at last
- By Sajjad Malik
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 15, 2015
According to reports from Vienna, Iran has consented to cutting back the number of centrifuges used for uranium enrichment from 19,000 to 6,100. It has also agreed to reduce its stock of enriched uranium from 10 tons to 300 kilograms. Furthermore, measures will be taken to reconfigure a scientific and medical reactor so that it cannot produce plutonium as a byproduct. Conformity to these measures will be verified by experts, and Iran will facilitate these inspections.
In return, Iran will get major sanctions relief and will be given access to the at least US$100 billion in oil revenues in foreign accounts that were frozen under the sanctions. The economic relief will help revive the Iranian economy and improve life for the country's people, who have suffered the most in the tussle over the alleged nuclear program.
The agreement will soon come under scrutiny in the U.S. Congress, which will have two months to review and approve the accord before it can be implemented. Hawkish elements in Congress will try to sabotage the deal, as some of them already vehemently oppose it. Israel and several Arab countries are also opposed to the deal, fearing that it will allow Iran to further pursue its strategic goals in the region. Israeli acting Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely went so far as to term the nuclear deal a "historic capitulation by the West" that will only help Iran quickly approach nuclear threshold status.
On the positive side, the deal may help to end the tension between Washington and Tehran that started with the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The world needs Iran to control and eliminate the threat of Islamic State, which occupies vast areas in Iraq and Syria. Iran has considerable influence in the two countries and has already been lending a hand against the Middle Eastern militant outfit known as Daesh in the Arabic-speaking world. Iran can also help stabilize Afghanistan, where the Taliban and the Afghan government have started peace talks to end bloodshed.
Strategically, the deal is a watershed in the history of regional politics. It will ease pressure on the United States, which had limited policy options in the key region due to enmity with Iran, a key regional power. The deal will also reduce Washington's reliance on some of its "reluctant allies" in the Middle East.
The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm
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