Deal with Iran: A First Step

The preliminary deal reached last Thursday between Washington and Tehran represents an initial step on the path to contain Iran’s nuclear program, and thus, to prevent that nation from eventually developing an atomic weapon. The actual terms of the agreement will not be fully known until June 30, when the final version of the text will be signed. Nonetheless, the fact that the Iranian regime has agreed to reduce the scope of its nuclear program, as well as to allow regular visits from United Nations inspectors represents a positive sign.

The United States, the European Union and the United Nations will now have to tweak, alongside Tehran, the technical details of the agreement in order to avoid possible misinterpretations that may, in the long term, render the deal null. If in exchange for the termination of Western economic sanctions, Iran truly keeps its promise to reduce its centrifuges by 75 percent and to cap its uranium enrichment at 3.67 percent (lower than the requirement to fabricate a bomb), this will all have entailed significant progress.

The Iranian regime’s historical antecedents nurture reasonable skepticism. Not only did it develop a secret nuclear program despite having signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, but in the midst of negotiations taking place in November 2013, it continued its uranium enrichment plan, reaching levels close to those required for the development of a nuclear weapon. For these reasons, it is crucial that the final document stipulate clearly the scope and reach of international inspectors’ duties in order to guarantee compliance with the agreement.

The document that was signed in Switzerland does not come close to meeting Barack Obama’s initial stipulations for reaching a deal with Iran, which entailed the total closure of Iran’s nuclear program. For this reason, Washington’s task is now to convince its allies in the Middle East — particularly Israel and Saudi Arabia, which oppose any type of accord — that the current deal will promote peace.