Iran, World Powers Strike Tentative Nuclear Accord

Iran and world powers reached the outlines of a critical interim deal on Thursday that aims to contain Tehran’s capacity to develop nuclear weapons. The agreement ends an exhausting stretch of overnight negotiations and marks the strongest signal yet that the United States and the Islamic Republic are prepared to set aside decades of distrust and embrace diplomacy.

The broad outlines of the deal, announced in a joint statement in Switzerland by the European Union’s chief diplomat, Federica Mogherini, and Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, included steep concessions on both sides.

In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama said the accord, if followed, would “cut off every pathway” that Iran could take to develop a nuclear bomb.

Zarif struck a tentatively optimistic tone on the negotiations that will follow toward a June 30 deadline for a final deal. But he said “serious differences” between Tehran and Washington remain. “I hope that at the end of this process, we will all show that through dialogue and engagement with dignity, we can in fact resolve problems, open new horizons, and move forward,” he told reporters in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the accord was reached.

Read the full article at Foreign Policy.