It has been a seemingly endless 20 months of negotiating with Iran, but the U.S., U.K., China, Russia, France and Germany have all come to an agreement on a long-term nuclear deal that they say will limit Iran's nuclear activities.
The nuclear deal was announced this past Tuesday, July 14, and President Obama has called it "historic." Obama says he is confident that this deal has reached the goal of cutting Iran off to any and all paths of producing nuclear weapons. Although Iran emphasizes that this nuclear program of theirs is for peaceful purposes only, this deal does have some restrictions to help make sure that this project is just for that reason.
One of the restrictions is on their uranium enrichment. What exactly is uranium enrichment? Well, it is when uranium hexafluoride is enriched to a certain concentration level in order to make things like nuclear weapons.
There are two fundamental uranium enrichment facilities in Iran, one is based in Natanz and the other is in Fordo. Three to four percent concentration of uranium-235 can induce nuclear power plants; but if that number is 90 percent, then it turns into nuclear weapons. The agreement has come to terms with Iran reducing its uranium stockpile by 98 percent for 15 years. In addition, they must also keep their level of enrichment at 3.67 percent.
Another restriction that they have agreed to is that the inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will regularly check on Iran's stated nuclear sites to make sure they are following orders and are not secretly building a bomb somewhere else.
And while Obama considers this a milestone in his presidency, some others are not too thrilled about it, specifically Republicans who make up most of Congress and still have to vote on it.
Republicans think that the United States has made more sacrifices for Iran than Iran has with this deal, making it very easy for them to meet these conditions and still have the chance at building a nuclear bomb. The deal is not as strict as people were expecting, and it is directed more in Iran's favor, which is a major concern for this party.
This negotiation will be letting Iran's capital, Tehran, get $100 billion in cash from unfrozen sanctions, and it is unsettling for some people because they don't know what they will be doing with that money. And what is even more concerning is that Iran's underground nuclear facility that was built under a mountain to hide its development from international inspectors will be allowed to stay open.
The Republican party is hoping that the U.S. Congress will say no so the world gets the memo that they, and the next future Republican president, will reject this when in office. If Congress does veto this, Obama then has the power to veto their veto, and it seems likely that is just that will happen.