What Did Obama and Rouhani Say About the Vienna Agreement?

Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani, the Presidents of the United States and Iran, respectively, each delivered televised speeches to their nations on Tuesday shortly after the announcement of a comprehensive nuclear agreement reached in Vienna. These speeches highlighted key points and achievements of the Vienna agreement, while also showing both commonalities and differences in their content. The most important points mentioned by Obama regarding the comprehensive nuclear agreement in Vienna include: Iran will reduce two-thirds of its installed centrifuges and store them under international supervision. The devices necessary for obtaining highly enriched uranium required for building a nuclear bomb will be limited. Iran will not use its advanced centrifuges for uranium enrichment for the next decade. Iran will also destroy 98% of its enriched uranium stockpile. Currently, Iran possesses enough enriched uranium to potentially build up to 10 nuclear weapons, but under the agreement, its stockpile will be reduced to a level that likely prevents the construction of a nuclear bomb. This storage limitation will last for 15 years. Iran will redesign the Arak heavy water reactor so that it cannot produce weapon-grade plutonium. Iran has agreed to transfer spent fuel from the Arak reactor out of the country during its operation. In the next 15 years, Iran will not build any other heavy water reactors. The Vienna agreement is based on verification, not trust. For the first time, the international community will be in a position to verify all of Iran's activities. Inspectors will have continuous access to Iran's nuclear facilities based on this agreement. In return, Iran will have access to the entire nuclear supply chain, uranium mines and factories, conversion facilities, and centrifuge manufacturing and storage facilities. These measures will prevent Iran from transferring and concealing materials from unknown sources. Some of these clarifications will last for 25 years. Ultimately, Iran will be permanently prohibited from pursuing the construction of nuclear weapons under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. As soon as Iran begins implementing this agreement, it will be freed from sanctions imposed due to its nuclear program, including both U.S. sanctions and those of the Security Council. However, Iran must take key nuclear steps before sanctions are lifted. Iran must remain faithful to the framework of the agreement over the next decade for additional sanctions to be lifted, which includes five years of restrictions on weapons and eight years of restrictions on ballistic missiles. The most important points mentioned by Rouhani regarding the comprehensive nuclear agreement in Vienna include: More than six thousand centrifuges will remain active. Over a thousand centrifuges will remain active in Fordow, with some of the active centrifuges in Fordow dedicated to research and development of stable isotopes. Active centrifuges in Natanz will continue uranium enrichment. Immediately after the agreement is implemented, the injection of UF6 gas into IR8 will be possible. The duration of restrictions has been reduced from 20 years plus an additional 25 years to eight years. The Arak reactor will be completed with its heavy water nature and the conditions outlined in the agreement. The Vienna agreement is a bilateral agreement. In terms of trust, the implementation of this agreement marks the beginning of a test; if this agreement is executed carefully and well, the step-by-step implementation can gradually dismantle the wall of distrust. We will proceed based on complete accuracy and oversight of the agreement without preemptively trusting countries that have had very poor records with Iran, while some have not had good records either. Iran has not sought and will not seek weapons of mass destruction. According to this agreement, on the day of implementation, all sanctions, including those related to weapons, missiles, and proliferation, as outlined in the resolution, will be lifted. All financial, banking, insurance, transportation, petrochemical, precious metal, and economic sanctions will be completely lifted, not suspended. Even the arms embargo will be lifted, with a type of limitation for five years, and then it will be lifted. In terms of proliferation, dual-use goods will be reviewed by a committee. In the coming days, as this agreement is approved by the United Nations Security Council, all six previous resolutions will be annulled.