nuclear-news

In a move described as “concrete progress” by Washington, the small print of the deal has now been nailed down between Tehran and negotiators representing Russia, China and the Western powers.

Iran first announced that all outstanding disagreements had been resolved last Friday, but Washington’s confirmation came only on Sunday night. William Hague, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, hailed it as an important “first step”.

The process of dismantling Tehran’s stocks of enriched uranium, which the West suspects was intended for weapons use, will begin a week on Monday. There will also be more frequent inspections by international monitors.

“Beginning January 20th, Iran will for the first time start eliminating its stockpile of higher levels of enriched uranium and dismantling some of the infrastructure that makes such enrichment possible,” the White House said.

Under the agreement, which follows a landmark deal reached in November, Iran will halt parts of its enrichment program for six months in exchange for modest relief from the international sanctions that has crippled its economy.

On Sunday, President Obama also said he would veto plans to pile on yet more sanctions, which have been proposed by hawkish factions in Washington’s House of Representatives. They claim the existing deal takes too much pressure off the Iranians, and will reduce their incentives to abide by the deal.

A bipartisan sanctions bill tabled before Christmas has so far attracted 59 out of 100 senators as co-sponsors. A total of 67 would be needed to over-ride the presidential veto.

The six month moratorium agreed to by Iran is designed to give further negotiating time for a longer-lasting settlement……Baroness Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said the different parties to the agreement would ask the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog to verify the deal finalised over the weekend.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10567105/Iran-to-begin-dismantling-nuclear-stockpile-next-week.html