Iran deal strengthens security of US, Israel, Gulf and Mideast interests

The first-step agreement with Iran on its nuclear program strengthens the security of the United States, Israel and "the Gulf and Middle East interests," US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday in testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Noting that the title of the hearing in the Republican-controlled House was "The Iran Nuclear Deal: Does It Further US National Security?," Kerry said, "I would state to you unequivocally, the answer is yes, the national security of the United States is stronger under this first-step agreement than it was before; Israel's national security is stronger than it was the day before we entered into this agreement; and the Gulf and Middle East interests are more secure than they were the day before we entered this agreement." The agreement halts the progress of Iran's nuclear program "and rolls it back in certain places" for the first time in nearly 10 years, Kerry said. "It provides unprecedented monitoring and inspections while we negotiate to see if we can conclude a comprehensive agreement," he said. "And I came away from our preliminary negotiation with serious questions about whether or not they are ready and willing to make some of the choices that have to be made, but that is what we put to test over the next months. "While we negotiate to see if we can conclude a comprehensive agreement that addresses all of our concerns, there is an important fact: Iran's nuclear program will not move forward," he added. Under the agreement, Iran will have to neutralize its entire stockpile of 20 percent uranium, which is a short step away from weapons-grade uranium, Kerry said. Iran will also halt enrichment above 5 percent, and not be permitted to grow its stockpile of 3.5 percent enriched uranium, he said. Iran cannot increase the number of centrifuges in operation, and it will not install or use any next- generation centrifuges to enrich uranium, he said. Also, "we will have increased transparency of Iran's nuclear program, giving us a window into their activities that we do not have today," including daily access to Fordo and Natanz, and monthly access to the Arak facility, "where we will have an extraordinary ability to be able to know through inspections whether or not they are complying with their requirements," Kerry said. Iran will not be able to commission the heavy-water, plutonium-capable Arak reactor during the course of the interim, first-step agreement, he said, adding, "now we have strong feelings about what will happen in a final comprehensive agreement. From our point of view, Arak is unacceptable. They cannot have a heavy-water reactor." In exchange, and contrary to many rumors, Kerry said Iran will get only about USD 7 billion in sanctions relief "limited to the very few targeted areas" specified in the agreement. That is less than 1 percent of Iran's 1-trillion-dollar economy, and is a small fraction of the more than 100 billion dollars of oil revenue alone that sanctions have caused Iran to be deprived of since 2012, he said. Kerry urged members of Congress to give US negotiators and experts "the time and the space to do their jobs, and that includes asking you, while we negotiate, that you hold off imposing new sanctions (on Iran)." "This is a very delicate diplomatic moment, and we have a chance to address peacefully one of the most pressing national security concerns that the world faces today, with gigantic implications of the potential of conflict," he said.