So, What’s the Deal? Israel Not Happy

“It is a good deal,” says President Obama ( Fox News).

It’s “irresponsible” and “dangerous,” says Israel (Times of Israel).

So, what IS the deal made last week between Iran and six world powers regarding Iran’s nuclear development? First off, it is not a final deal. The deadline for the final agreement is June 30^th when Iran’s previous arrangement expires. What happened last week in Switzerland was a labor of preliminaries, an agreement to a “framework” from which to continue negotiating the “real deal” by the June deadline.

While many details of the arrangement will not be made public, more came out than most people expected.

News reports indicate that Iran agreed to:

• Stop enriching uranium at its Fordow plant for 15 years (Fox News)
• Not build any new enrichment facilities for 15 years (Fox News)
• Reduce its uranium enrichment by two-thirds (Fox News)
• Allow “regular access” of its nuclear sites to international inspectors (Fox News)
• Allow investigations into compliance concerns, both past and present (Jerusalem Post)

Overall, the agreement will:

• Increase Iran’s “break-out” time for obtaining a nuclear weapon from its enriched uranium to one year from the present two to three months.
• Allow for sanctions to snap back if Iran fails to comply
• Allow Iran to continue research and development of certain uranium enriching centrifuges
• Lift international sanctions on Iran “after inspectors verify that Iran ‘has taken all of its key nuclear-related steps’” (Fox News)

Much work and many talks are yet ahead to hammer out a final detailed deal by June 30 ^th.

Still undetermined are:

• The timing of sanctions relief (Jerusalem Post)
• An outlined process for resolving disputes (Jerusalem Post)

Concerns include that Iran will still be allowed to:

• Keep all its nuclear facilities open
• Enrich uranium
• Keep many “significant elements of a program that could, someday, be used to produce either energy or nuclear arms” (Fox News)

Israel objects

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN, “This deal will both threaten us and threaten our neighbors,” ( USA Today). Israel is prepared to fight for a better deal in the coming months while the final agreement is being formulated. “I’m not trying to kill any deal,” he told NBC. “I’m trying to kill a bad deal” ( USA Today).

Israel asks

On Monday, Strategic Affairs Minister for Israel Yuval Steinitz distributed a document with ten questions regarding last week’s agreement framework ( Times of Israel). Among them are:

• With Iran’s proven defiance of previous agreements and their engagement in forbidden activity, why does this deal not demand that inspectors can conduct inspections anywhere, anytime?
• “Why will Iran be allowed to continue research and development on centrifuges far more advanced than those currently in its possession?” (Times of Israel)
• “Why does the framework not address Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile program, whose sole purpose is to carry nuclear payloads?” (Times of Israel)
• Why is Iran not required to change its behavior in the coming decade in order to lift the restrictions imposed by this deal?

The construction of a final deal must be achieved by June 30 ^th. Opponents of the present “framework for a deal” are certain to be vocal in the coming weeks and months. Israel has the most at stake, and Netanyahu appears prepared to wage a strong campaign for significant changes. Please continue to pray for wisdom for all world leaders involved in these negotiations and that the details of the coming deal will result in a safe Israel and a neutralized Iran.

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