Iran nuclear agreement talks resume ahead of deadline

Members of the P5+1 and Iran celebrated after agreeing on the Joint Plan of Action at United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on November 24, 2013.

March 26, 2015

By Kelly Coyle

Negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran resumed in Switzerland on Thursday as the March 31 deadline for striking a deal with Iran to limit their nuclear program nears.

The current negotiations are the result of the historic "Joint Plan of Action" agreement reached on November 24, 2013. Iran agreed to freeze elements of their nuclear program and allow inspectors to examine their nuclear facilities. In return the P5+1, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States — plus Germany, agreed to lift some sanctions placed on Iran. Since November 2013, the P5+1 and Iran have been working toward a "comprehensive solution."

Secretary of State John Kerry and others negotiating a deal are pushing for specific limitations on the number of centrifuges and amount of enriched uranium Iran can have, which would limit Iran's ability to obtain a nuclear weapon. Iranians, however, have refused to agree to any specifics. Iran has also demanded "to continue nuclear research and development during the duration of the deal" and for sanctions to be "lifted immediately at the outset of the deal," according to The Los Angeles Times. The potential deal is also complicated by members of Congress who have said that they will not approve a deal unless specific limitations are placed on Iran's nuclear program.

A European diplomat involved in the negotiations said that specificity is "one of the biggest challenges we face" in reaching an agreement. "The politics in America demand specificity, and an Iranian commitment. And the politics in Iran demand vagueness. ... All of us are in agreement that you don’t make oral deals with Iran," the diplomat explained.

According to The New York Times, "The core test, established by Mr. Kerry, is whether any agreement would give the West, Israel and Iran’s wary Arab neighbors at least one year’s warning time if Iran decided to race for a bomb — known as a 'breakout.' That requires a complex calculation, dictated by the number of centrifuges that are spinning, the size of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium and, in the later years of the accord, the type and number of advanced centrifuges Iran is allowed to develop."

If the framework for an agreement is reached by March 31, the P5+1 and Iran will have until June 30 to draft a final agreement. Members of Congress have demanded the ability to review a deal before any actions are taken and have proposed legislation to do so. They have stated that they, and not President Obama, have the authority to lift or renew sanctions on Iran. If an agreement is not reached, "Republican lawmakers have pledged to enforce new sanctions on Iran," according to The Wall Street Journal.

"Charm offensive"

"President Obama’s Nowruz Message to the Iranian People (English)," March 19, 2015.

President Obama and Kerry have engaged in acts of goodwill with Iranians as the deadline for a nuclear deal approaches. On March 19, 2015, Obama released a video to those celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and discussed his hope for the future relationship between the U.S. and Iran. He directly addressed the nuclear deal saying, "A nuclear deal now can help open the door to a brighter future for you the Iranian people, who, as heirs to a great civilization, have so much to give to the world."

Kerry joined Obama's "charm offensive" by sending his condolences to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose mother died. He said, "We share in his grief and that of his brother, Presidential Special Advisor Hossein Fereydoun, who has been participating in the talks in Lausanne, and we keep their family in our thoughts. Such a loss is especially hard coming on the eve of Nowruz, traditionally a time when families gather together in joy and hope."

"Death to America"

"Iranian Leader Khamenei: Death to America; Obama Is Trying to Turn Our People against the Regime."

The acts of goodwill from Obama and Kerry were not reciprocated. During a speech in Tehran on March 21, Iranians interrupted Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, raised their fists in the air and chanted "Death to America." Khamenei responded, "Death to America, of course, because America is the principal element behind this pressure. They are the ones who relentlessly focus on the economy of our beloved nation. Their goal is to turn the people against the system. ... Obviously they are lying when they say they support the Iranian nation. Nobody should believe these lies of the enemy."

Khameni also criticized President Obama. He said, "America desperately needs these nuclear negotiations. In his message on the Norwuz holiday, the U.S. president said some dishonest things, I'm sad to say. He said that there are people in Iran who refuse to accept a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue. This is a lie. ... The Iranian nation will not accept the coercive dictates of the U.S." He told the crowd that the U.S. wants a nuclear agreement to be signed and the Iranian nuclear program to be investigated before economic sanctions on Iran are lifted. Khamenei argued that the sanctions must be lifted immediately once an agreement is signed.

After the speech, Khamenei posted the following tweet:

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's tweet from March 21, 2015

House letter to Obama

"Chairman Royce Opening Statement at Hearing Iran Nuclear Negotiations."

On March 23, 2015, in a rare moment of bipartisanship, 129 House Democrats joined with 238 House Republicans and sent President Obama a letter expressing their concern about Iran's uranium enrichment program, their ability to develop a nuclear bomb and the importance of the negotiations and potential deal with Iran. Lawmakers also asked Obama to consider "Iran's destabilizing role in the region" and their human rights violations as evidence of the "risks of negotiating with a partner we cannot trust."

The letter stated, "A final comprehensive agreement must constrain Iran's nuclear infrastructure so that Iran has no pathway to a bomb, and that agreement must be long lasting." Lawmakers explained that they would only consider new legislation lifting all sanctions on Iran if they are convinced that Iran will not be able to construct a bomb.

Senate letter to Iran

On March 9, 2015, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and 46 other Senate Republicans sent a letter to the Iranian government explaining features of the United States Constitution that affect any deal made between the U.S. and Iran. Specifically, the letter stated that any deal would be viewed as an executive agreement, which could be modified by Congress or revoked by the next president.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Bob Corker (Tenn.), Dan Coats (Ind.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Thad Cochran (Miss.) did not sign the letter.

Cotton also tweeted the letter in English and Farsi to Ali Khamenei, Rouhani and Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Javad Zarif.

Cotton's tweet from March 9, 2015

In response to the letter, Zarif said, "In our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy. It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history. ... The authors may not fully understand that in international law, governments represent the entirety of their respective states, are responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs, are required to fulfil the obligations they undertake with other states and may not invoke their internal law as justification for failure to perform their international obligations."

Republican comments

Fox News: "March 11, 2015: Sen. Tom Cotton joins On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."

• Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said, "It did not seem to me to be appropriate for us to be writing the ayatollah at this critical time during the negotiations, and frankly, I doubt very much that the ayatollah would be moved by an explanation of our constitutional system."

• Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said, "These are tough enough negotiations as it stands. And introducing this kind of letter, I didn’t think would be helpful."

• Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), an Iraq war veteran, said, "I’m not going to sit here and defend the Senate letter. But the letter might never had been written had the administration been more open with members of the Senate and members of the House about what was going on and what their goals are."

• In an interview with Fox News' Greta van Sustern on March 10, John McCain said, "What that letter did was tell the Iranians that whatever deal they make, the Congress of the United States will play a role. Maybe that wasn’t the best way to do that, but I think the Iranians should know that the Congress of the United States has to play a role in whether an agreement of this magnitude."

• Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations who served in the George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush administrations, said, "If you are a country in the Middle East or Asia relying on Washington, this raises questions about America’s predictability. I hear this all the time. I just know it makes others around the world more uncomfortable and contributes to a more dangerous and disorderly world."

• Phil Zelikow, senior adviser to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said, "It is never a good idea for elected leaders to give foreigners, and especially foreign enemies, a formal invitation to join our domestic arguments. It is not the conduct one would ordinarily expect from leaders of a great power."

• On March 15, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reaffirmed his support for the letter. He said, "I don’t think it was a mistake. It’s no more unusual than Robert Byrd going to Moscow or John Kerry going to Managua."

• According to The Hill, "McConnell pointed out that former Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) flew to Moscow in 1979 during the Carter administration to explain to Russian officials that the Senate could block the Salt II nuclear treaty, then under discussion. He also recalled that then Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) flew to Nicaragua 1980s [sic] to meet with the Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and accuse the Reagan administration of terrorism."

Democratic response

• On March 9, 2015, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said, "It’s unprecedented for one political party to directly intervene in an international negotiation with the sole goal of embarrassing the president of the United States. Republicans need to find a way to get over their animosity of President Obama."

• In response to the letter, former Secretary of State and possible 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton posted the following tweet:

Clinton's tweet from March 11, 2015

• Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said, "This is a brazen attempt by Senate Republicans to sabotage negotiations aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. This bizarre, inappropriate letter is a desperate ploy to scuttle a comprehensive agreement and the chance for a peaceful resolution, which is in the best interests of the United States, Israel and the world."

• In an interview on March 15, Secretary of State John Kerry criticized the letter, saying, "It specifically inserts itself directly to the leader of another country saying, 'Don't negotiate with these guys because we're going to change this,' which by the way, is not only contrary to the Constitution with respect to the executive's right to negotiate, but it is incorrect because they cannot change an executive agreement. So it's false information and directly calculated to interfere and basically say, 'Don't negotiate with them. You've got to negotiate with 535 members of Congress."

Legislation

Congress has introduced two pieces of legislation that, if passed, will allow Congress to have a say in any deal that President Obama makes with Iran. S.615 - the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 and S.269 - the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015 require the president to submit any deal made to Congress for review and establish a waiting period before actions can be taken on the deal.

According to Reuters, "Obama has threatened to veto the bill (S.615), saying it impinged on presidential authority and could disrupt the talks."

Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) introduced S.615 - the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 on February 27, 2015. The legislation proposes the following:

• requiring President Obama to submit the text of the agreement to Congress within five days after reaching a nuclear deal;

• prohibiting President Obama from waiving, suspending, reducing, providing relief from or limiting congressional sanctions for 60 days while Congress holds hearings on the deal;

• requiring President Obama to review Iran's compliance with the terms of the agreement and demonstrate that "Iran has not taken any action that could significantly advance its nuclear weapons program" and "has not directly supported or carried out an act of terrorism against the United States or a U.S. person."

Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) introduced S.269 - the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015 on January 27, 2015. The legislation proposes placing economic sanctions on Iran, if a nuclear deal is not reached by the stated deadline of June 30, 2015. The legislation proposes the following:

• requiring President Obama to submit the text of the agreement to Congress within five days after reaching a nuclear deal;

• providing Congress 30 days to review any deal that is made with Iran and prohibiting President Obama from taking any actions on the agreement during the review period;

• reinstating any sanctions on Iran that have been waived during the ongoing negotiations if a final agreement is not reached by July 6, 2015.

Nuclear deal timeline

The following is an abbreviated timeline of the Iranian nuclear agreement negotiations:

2015

• June 30, 2015: Deadline for reaching a final "comprehensive solution" nuclear agreement with Iran.

• March 31, 2015: Deadline to complete a framework for a nuclear agreement with Iran.

"Corker: Obama Administration 'Stiff-Arming' Congress on Iran Talks is 'Totally Unacceptable'," January 21, 2015.

• March 23, 2015: 367 members of the U.S. House sent a letter to President Barack Obama expressing their concern about Iran's uranium enrichment program, their ability to develop a nuclear bomb and the importance of the negotiations and potential deal with Iran.

• March 20, 2015: Negotiations came to an end in Switzerland after the Iranian delegation left to attend the funeral of President Hassan Rouhani's mother.

• March 20, 2015: President Obama called for Iran to "release three Americans from prison, Saeed Abidini, Amir Hekmati and Jason Rezaian, and locate another, Robert Levinson, who is missing," according to The Hill.

• March 20, 2015: Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) announced that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would wait until April to discuss S.615 - the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015. He said, "One of the reasons we moved our markup back until the first part of April is that I’m pretty sure the administration, they’re already sending out signals that they’re going to say, 'look we really didn’t mean March 24, we meant the end of March.'" According to The Hill, "Lawmakers have referred to March 24 as the deadline to get a framework agreement, while the administration says it’s March 31."

• March 17, 2015: Benjamin Netanyahu won re-election as Israel's prime minister.

• March 12, 2015: Corker sent a letter to Obama asking him to tell the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if he intended to discuss a nuclear deal with the United Nations Security Council without first seeking the approval of Congress. He wrote, "As you are also aware, there is significant and growing bipartisan support for Congress to consider and, as appropriate, vote on any agreement that seeks to relieve the very statutory sanctions imposed by Congress that were instrumental in bringing Iran to the negotiating table. There are now reports that your administration is contemplating taking an agreement, or aspects of it, to the United Nations Security Council for a vote. Enabling the United Nations to consider an agreement or portions of it, while simultaneously threatening to veto legislation that would enable Congress to do the same, is a direct affront to the American people and seeks to undermine Congress’s appropriate role."

"Menendez at Iran Nuclear Negotiations Hearing," January 21, 2015.

• March 9, 2015: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and 46 other Senate Republicans sent a letter to the Iranian government explaining features of the United States Constitution that affect any deal made between the U.S. and Iran. Specifically, the letter stated that any deal would be viewed as an executive agreement, which could be modified by Congress or revoked by the next president.

• March 4, 2015: Democratic Sens. Robert Menendez (N.J.), Tim Kaine (Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Ben Cardin (Md.), Chris Coons (Del.), Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Independent Sen. Angus King (Maine) sent Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) a letter "to object to the partisan handling of the bill (S. 615, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015) which defies regular order by bypassing the committee process and going directly to the Senate Floor for debate and vote."

• March 3, 2015: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress. He said, "The greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons. We can’t let that happen."

• March 2-5, 2015: Iran and the P5+1 met in Montreux, Switzerland, to continue negotiations.

• February 27, 2015: Sens. Corker, Menendez, Kaine and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced S.615 - the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015.

• February 23, 2015: "Iran and the P5+1 concluded another round of talks on Iran's controversial nuclear program in Geneva. Atomic Energy Organization chief Ali Akbar Salehi and U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz joined the talks for the first time to provide technical expertise, but Secretary of State John Kerry noted that their presence was 'no indication whatsoever that something is about to be decided,'" according to The United States Institute of Peace.

• January 27, 2015: Democratic Sens. Menendez, Schumer, Blumenthal, Cardin, Coons, Gary Peters (Mich.), Bob Casey (Pa.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) sent a letter to President Obama expressing their support for the Iran Nuclear Weapon Free Act of 2015 and promised to "not vote for this legislation on the Senate floor before March 24. After March 24, we will only vote for this legislation on the Senate floor if Iran fails to reach agreement on a political framework that addresses all parameters of a comprehensive agreement."

• January 27, 2015: Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Menendez introduced S.269 - the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015.

• January 14, 16, 2015: Kerry and Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met in Geneva and Paris to continue negotiations.

2014

• December 17, 2014: Iran and the P5+1 met in Geneva to continue negotiations.

• November 24, 2014: The P5+1 and Iran agreed to extend negotiations by six months because a deal was not reached.

• November 19-24, 2014: Iran and the P5+1 met in Vienna to continue negotiations.

• November 9, 2014: Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU envoy Catherine Ashton in Oman to continue negotiations.

• October 14-16, 2014: Iran and the P5+1 met in Vienna to continue negotiations.

• September 18-26, 2014: Iran and the P5+1 met in New York to continue negotiations.

• July 3-19, 2014: The P5+1 and Iran agreed to extend negotiations by four months. "Iran agreed to take further steps to decrease its 20 percent enriched uranium stockpile. The major powers agreed to repatriate $2.8 billion in frozen funds to Iran."

• July 14, 2014: "Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, says the country could accept a freeze on its capacity to produce nuclear fuel at current levels for several years, provided it could eventually produce fuel unhindered," according to The New York Times.

• May 13-16, 2014: Iran and the P5+1 met in Vienna to continue negotiations.

• April 7-9, 2014: Iran and the P5+1 met in Vienna to continue negotiations.

• March 19, 2014: Iran and the P5+1 continued negotiations.

• January 20, 2014: Implementation of the Joint Plan of Action began. "The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran reduced stockpile of uranium enriched to 20 percent and halted construction on the heavy water reactor in Arak. The United States and the European Union announced steps to suspend a limited number of sanctions and allow the release of Iran’s oil revenues frozen in other countries."

• January 12, 2014: The P5+1 and Iran "arrived at technical understandings for the Joint Plan of Action. The Joint Plan of Action marks the first time in nearly a decade that the Islamic Republic of Iran has agreed to specific actions that stop the advance of its nuclear program, roll back key aspects of the program, and include unprecedented access for international inspectors. The technical understandings set forth how the provisions of the Joint Plan of Action will be implemented and verified, and the timing of implementation of its provisions," according to The White House.

2013

• November 24, 2013: "The United States and its partners in the P5+1 reached an initial understanding with Iran that halts progress on its nuclear program and rolls it back in key respects. As outlined in a Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), this initial understanding includes the first meaningful limits on Iran’s nuclear program in close to a decade. In return for these important steps to constrain Iran’s nuclear program, the P5+1 committed to provide Iran with limited, targeted, and reversible sanctions relief for a six-month period," according to The U.S. Department of State.

• September 27, 2013: President Obama and President Rouhani had a phone conversation marking "the first direct contact between the leaders of Iran and the United States since 1979." Obama "said the two leaders discussed Iran’s nuclear program and said he was persuaded there was a basis for an agreement," according to The New York Times.

• July 31, 2013: The House passed H.R.850 - the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013, which said that "it shall be U.S. policy to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability," by a vote of 400 - 20.

• June 15, 2013: Iranians elected Rouhani.

• June 2013: "The Obama administration escalates sanctions against Iran for the fourth time in a week, blacklisting what it describes as a global network of front companies controlled by Iran’s top leaders, accusing them of hiding assets and generating billions of dollars worth of revenue to help Tehran evade sanctions," according to The New York Times.

• May 15, 2013: The P5+1 and Iran once again failed to reach an agreement, while "in Vienna, Austria for the 10th round of talks since late 2011," according to The United States Institute for Peace.

• April 6, 2013: The P5+1 concluded negotiations without any progress.

• January 1, 2013: President Obama signed into law H.R.4310 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, which, among other things, imposed sanctions on Iran and sought to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Iranian Nuclear Deal"

Iranian Nuclear Deal News Feed

See also

• Iran nuclear agreement, 2015
• John Kerry
• Tom Cotton
• Barack Obama

External links

• House letter to President Obama

• Detailed Timeline of Nuclear Diplomacy with Iran

• "Iran Nuclear Negotiations: Status of Talks and the Role of Congress"

• "PM Netanyahu's Speech in Congress"

• "An Open Letter to the Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran"