The Obama administration’s “historic framework” with Iran is a long-term solution that can prevent Tehran from producing a nuclear weapon even after a final deal begins to expire in 10 years, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a Washington Post op-ed published Monday.
“The key parameters for the agreement that was announced April 2 in Switzerland provide a technically sound path for certifying Iran’s nuclear program as peaceful, quickly determining if it is not and providing the breathing room needed to respond appropriately,” Moniz wrote.
“The negotiated parameters would block Iran’s four pathways to a nuclear weapon — the path through plutonium production at the Arak reactor, two paths to a uranium weapon through the Natanz and Fordow enrichment facilities, and the path of covert activity.”
Moniz, who has taken the lead for the administration in selling the technical aspects of the framework, is the latest administration official to try to contain the damage done by President Obama’s admission to NPR in an interview aired April 7 that Iran may still be able to develop a nuclear weapon after any deal with the international community expires. Obama said in the interview that he hoped Iran will have changed by then.
“This agreement is not for 10, 15 or 20 years; it is a phased agreement built for the long term,” Moniz wrote.
The framework is not yet a formal agreement, and it’s unclear whether negotiators will be able to iron out very public differences that still remain in time for a self-imposed July 1 deadline.
Though the framework is a good start, many of its provisions need to be clarified and strengthened if any final deal is to meet its goal of ensuring Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful, the Institute for Science and International Security said Saturday in an analysis.
The highly-anticipated analysis by the group, which has advised U.S. negotiators in the talks, recommends that indefinite restrictions be placed on Iran’s construction of heavy-water reactors such as the one at Arak, its capacity to enrich uranium and its use of the Fordow facility to provide greater assurances of a peaceful nuclear program.
In the analysis, the institute also repeats previously expressed concerns about verification, noting the importance of Iran giving a full accounting of past activities and full access to international inspectors. Iranian officials continue to publicly refuse both conditions, and it’s unclear whether the framework will lead to a deal that would force them to do both.
“The United States and its partners remain in a strong position to obtain an adequate nuclear deal that will provide confidence that Iran will not seek nuclear weapons. To that end, these negotiations need to ensure that key provisions are clarified and strengthened,” the group said.
