EU hails nuclear deal with Iran, credits Ashton

EU leaders across Europe welcomed the deal reached early Sunday (24 November) with Iran on curbing its nuclear programme and praised EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton for her role in brokering the agreement.

Iran and six world powers agreed to curb the Iranian nuclear programme in exchange for initial sanctions relief, signalling the start of a rapprochement that could reduce tension in the wider Middle East.

Aimed at easing a long-running standoff, the interim pact between Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia won the critical endorsement of Iran's clerical supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"I would like to congratulate in particular Catherine Ashton, the high representative/vice-president of the European Commission, for this accomplishment, which is a result of her tireless engagement and dedication to the issue over the last four years," said José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy echoed Barroso, saying: "I commend Ashton for her crucial role – as negotiator and co-chair of the talks. Her dedication and perseverance have been key in brokering this first agreement."

First step

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has hailed the temporary deal on Iran's nuclear programme as an "important first step".

Iran was now "further away from getting a nuclear weapon", he said, while insisting sanctions would be enforced "robustly" until a final deal.

Ashton, who has been coordinating diplomatic contacts with Iran on behalf of the major powers, said the accord created time and space for follow-up talks on a comprehensive solution.

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, and the UK foreign secretary, William Hague, said at a joint news conference in London after the Geneva summit that they would start discussing the next steps on curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions immediately.

Historic mistake?

But Israel's Netanyahu, a steady critic of the talks, condemned the agreement as it left intact Iran's nuclear fuel-producing infrastructure. "What was achieved last night in Geneva is not a historic agreement, it was a historic mistake," he said.

"Today the world has become a much more dangerous place because the most dangerous regime in the world took a significant step towards obtaining the world's most dangerous weapon," he said in remarks to his cabinet.

He reiterated a long-standing Israeli threat of possible military action against Iran - even as a member of his security cabinet conceded that the interim accord limited this option.

Obama made plain in a late-night appearance at the White House after the deal was sealed that if Iran did not meet its commitments during the six-month period covered by the interim deal, Washington would turn off the tap of sanctions relief and "ratchet up the pressure".

The agreement, which halts Iran's most sensitive nuclear activity, its higher-grade enrichment of uranium, was tailored as a package of confidence-building steps towards reducing decades of tension and ultimately creating a more stable, secure Middle East.

Iranian Foreign Minister and chief negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif flew home from Geneva to a crowd welcoming him as a hero with flowers and flags, a reflection of the relief felt by many Iranians exhausted by sanctions and isolation.

Zarif said in an interview broadcast on state television that Iran would move quickly to start implementing the agreement and it was ready to begin talks on a final accord.

"In the coming weeks - by the end of the Christian year - we will begin the programme for the first phase. At the same time, we are prepared to begin negotiations for a final resolution as of tomorrow," Zarif said.