Following President Barack Obama’s announcement of a framework nuclear agreement between Iran and the P+5 countries, editors and columnists immediately weighed in on its merits or lack thereof. Columnist Michael Singh wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the deal was “no deal at all.”
What’s Still Missing from the Iran Nuclear Framework
Michael Singh – Wall Street Journal
In announcing the “key parameters of a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and their international counterparts made much of the accord’s historic nature. But is this a historic triumph or a historic mistake? A good deal or a bad deal? The clearest answer is that it is not a deal at all.
The framework released Thursday was not signed by any party and presumably is subject to change. The final agreement remains to be negotiated by June 30, though that deadline–like all others before it–may prove malleable. Vital details will be negotiated in the coming weeks.
The New York Times praised the agreement, writing that it’s poised to help keep Iran’s nuclear ambitions in check.
A Promising Deal with Iran
The Editorial Board – The New York Times
The preliminary agreement between Iran and the major powers is a significant achievement that makes it more likely Iran will never be a nuclear threat. President Obama said it would “cut off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon.”
Officials said some important issues have not been resolved, like the possible lifting of a United Nations arms embargo, and writing the technical sections could also cause problems before the deal’s finalization, expected by June 30. Even so, the agreement announced on Thursday after eight days of negotiations appears more specific and comprehensive than expected.
It would roll back Iran’s nuclear program sufficiently so that Iran could not quickly produce a nuclear weapon, and ensure that, if Iran cheated, the world would have at least one year to take preventive action, including reimposing sanctions. In return, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations would lift sanctions crippling Iran’s economy, though the timing of such a move is yet another uncertainty.