NEGOTIATIONS TO BEGIN
A two-month negotiating period now begins, with the much-anticipated reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as the first step.
Under the terms of the deal released by US officials, Iran will dilute its enriched uranium stocks, possibly by “down-blending on site under the supervision of the IAEA” – the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
Down-blending involves mixing enriched uranium that can be refined to make atomic bombs with depleted uranium, to reduce its radioactivity.
“The fact that they’re conceding to that is a major, major win for the United States of America,” one of the US officials said of the nuclear issue on a call with reporters.
Under the text read out by US officials, the two countries agreed to discuss a mechanism for dealing with Iran’s stocks of enriched uranium, which have been at the centre of US allegations that Tehran wants to develop nuclear arms.
“They’re saying we will destroy the enriched stockpile, and this is how we’re going to do it at a minimum,” a senior US official said, in what he said was his own commentary on the deal.
This would lead to the more far-reaching economic assistance for Iran.
But a US official said Washington would not be required to contribute financially.
Oil prices have tumbled in recent days as optimism grew of a lasting Middle East peace agreement, but reversed course on Wednesday.
Prices briefly jumped 5 per cent as uncertainty spread about the signing, before stabilising later in the day.
LEBANESE FRONT
While violence declined in Lebanon following the announcement of the deal, Israeli strikes on the south have killed at least five people since then, according to state media, which also reported Israeli raids on south Lebanon on Wednesday.
Israel’s army said five soldiers were wounded on Wednesday, one of them severely, “as a result of an explosive drone impact in southern Lebanon”, the first such announcement since the US-Iran deal.
The Israeli military also said its air force intercepted “several rockets” launched toward soldiers operating in south Lebanon, without reporting casualties.