Iran and six major world powers have reached an agreement after more than ten years of negotiations, after round-the-clock talks in Vienna.
Under the deal, sanctions imposed by the P5+1 – the US, UK, France, China and Russia plus Germany – will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear programme that the West fear was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.
The deal is hailed as major victory for both U.S. President Barack Obama and Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, who was elected two years ago after a vow to reduce the diplomatic isolation of Iran.
Although the deal has not yet been formally released, ccording to Reuters key parts of the deal include:
- Iran has accepted that sanctions could be restored in 65 days if it violates the deal
- UN arms embargo and missile sanctions would remain in place for five and eight years respectively
- UN inspectors allowed to monitor Iranian military sites – however, they will be allowed to challenge access
Obama still needs to pass the deal through congress within 60 days; however, it is possible for him to use his veto to overrule the rejection.
Rumours that a deal was about to be reached have had a dramatic impact on oil prices over the past couple of days, and after news that an agreement had been finalised this morning oil prices fell more than a dollar. The prospect of a deal has already helped push down global oil prices for the last few weeks; lifting the sanctions in place against Iran will increase the supply of Iranian oil on the market.
“Even with a historic deal, oil from Iran will take time to return, and will not be before next year, most likely the second half of 2016,” Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at London-based consultancy Energy Aspects, told Reuters. “But given how oversupplied the market is with Saudi output at record highs, the mere prospect of new oil will be bearish for sentiment.”
