Zarif: We Might Accept a 10-Year Freeze on Our Nuclear Program

Ted Belman. Bibi said this morning,”There is an alternative to this bad agreement and that is a better agreement. No other state has a greater interest in this issue that it be resolved peacefully,” This confirms my suggestion that Bibi has bought into the Hudna that is being negotiated. Yemen and Iraq have already been given over to Iran. Its a whole new world that’s unfolding. Israel seems to be going along with it.

By Elad Benari, INN

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Thursday suggested that a 10-year moratorium on some aspects of his country’s nuclear program might be acceptable to Tehran, Reuters reported.

U.S. President Barack Obama told the same news agency on Monday that Iran must commit to a verifiable freeze of at least 10 years on sensitive nuclear activity for a landmark atomic deal to be reached between Tehran and six world powers.

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour asked Javad Zarif in an interview if Tehran was prepared to accept decade-long limits on a nuclear program it insists is peaceful.

“It depends on how you define it,” Zarif responded. “If we have an agreement, we are prepared to accept certain limitations for a certain period of time but I’m not prepared to negotiate on the air.”

The comments as Iran and the West continue talks aimed at turning an interim 2013 deal into a permanent agreement.

Under the interim deal, Iran committed to limit its uranium enrichment to five percent and is gradually winning access to $4.2 billion of its oil revenues frozen abroad and some other sanctions relief.

Talks to reach a permanent deal have continuously stalled and two deadlines for a final deal have been missed, with a third one looming on July 1 and an initial deal needing to be worked out by March 31.

“There are a lot of details that need to be discussed. We have made some progress,” Zarif told Amanpour. “We will have to work very, very hard for the next few weeks.”

“We can in fact reach an agreement if there is the necessary political will to make the tough choices,” he continued.

Earlier this week, Zarif told NBC News that the United States and Iran have nearly reached a nuclear arms deal, though there are still details left to be negotiated.

In Thursday’s CNN interview, he dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s warnings about the deal in a speech to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday.

“Some people consider peace and stability as an existential threat,” he said, adding that it had no impact on the negotiations.

 

March 6, 2015 | 3 Comments »

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  1. Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Thursday suggested that a 10-year moratorium on some aspects of his country’s nuclear program might be acceptable to Tehran…

    Sure!…

  2. Iran is not even being asked to stop behaving like a rogue state bent on subjugating its neighbors, sponsoring terrorism and determined to annihilate Israel.

    Its going to be rewarded for its aggressive and belligerent behavior.

    No wonder the Iranians sound jubilant. America is ready to give them all they want.

    The way of the world.

  3. Only wonder and dismay can anyone informed feel, and we all must strive to be informed when nuclear weapons threats are issued against us, by reading such an obscene “agreement”.
    Uranium Hexafluoride aka UF6 is the vehicle used in the process of enriching Uranium to the various levels of purity needed for its use. Weapons grade Uranium should be more than 90% pure.
    The problem is that “depleted” UF6 is also highly radioactive. Depletion is the level at which the residual UF6 and other materials become not longer “possible” to purify. That is the simple way of saying it.
    Storage of DEPLETED UF6 is performed by the US Department of Energy and Martin Marietta. The residue is placed in large steel containers by now including probably more than 500000 metric tons of the deadly poison.
    We are talking about DEPLETED UF6, Iran has accumulated that of course as it does have a supply of weapons grade Uranium and has also still viable large quantities of UF6 which are subject to restricted access storage and handling procedures.
    How will Iran maintain the inventory frozen in place for 10 years? Nonsense.
    Who is going to control its disposition? How will it be done?

    Please at least read the following document:
    1992 – Martin Marietta K/ETO-99
    Containment & Storage of UF6 at US Department of Energy Uranium Enrichment Plants.
    Martin Marietta for the US Dept. of Energy