US Swings Deal with Iran to Bring Oil Major in Global Mainstream

Shia Power to Check on Sunni ISIS

This is Probably going to go Down in History as One of the Biggest Diplomatic Successes of the Century

Iran and six world powers sealed a historic accord to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in return for ending sanctions, capping two years of tough diplomacy with the biggest breakthrough in relations in decades. A 159 page document on this was signed in Vienna on 14 July 2015.

Iran agreed to cut 98 percent of its stockpile of enriched uranium and eliminate two-thirds of its centrifuges.

Diplomats from the U.S., China, Russia, the U.K., France and Germany reached the deal with their Iranian counterparts in Vienna on 14 July, their 18th day of talks. President Barack Obama said it blocks “every path to a nuclear weapon” for Iran, while Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called it a “win-win” solution. They will now get a market for oil stored on ships. The nation is hungry for access to world markets. Nearly $150bn Iranian assets lie frozen in various banks. The formal movement in this will begin only on 15 Dec when inspectors on the nuclear program complete their job.

Full implementation depends on Iran meeting obligations to curb its nuclear program and address concerns about possible military dimensions of its work.

Congress has 60 days to review the document in Washington, where it will meet resistance from lawmakers who oppose making any nuclear compromises with Iran. But US President Barack Obama is fully behind the deal.

Should the agreement survive review, it would become one of the biggest foreign policy achievements for Obama, who kicked off the initiative with a call to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani almost two years ago. The U.S. cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 1980, after revolutionaries seized the American embassy in Tehran and held hostages for more than a year.

Israeli Hates Deal – Historic Mistake

Israel, which has threatened military action to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, said it will use “every means” possible to persuade Congress to reject it, though Obama vowed to veto such a move. The House and Senate would each need a two-thirds majority to override a veto.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the deal as a “historic mistake,” saying in a statement that “sweeping concessions were made in all areas meant to block Iran from the ability to arm itself with nuclear weapons.”

Once UN monitors verify Iran has taken all steps to curb its nuclear activities, the U.S. and the EU will also lift restrictions on most of its financial institutions except those sanctioned for terrorism or human rights abuses. Iranian banks, including the central bank, will be able to process transactions once again through SWIFT, the leading global financial messaging system, U.S. officials said.

Shiite, Sunni

The accord will also reverberate across the Middle East, where Shiite Iran’s prominence has been growing amid a regional conflict with Sunni Muslim extremists, alarming Gulf rivals led by Saudi Arabia. Iran is a key backer of embattled governments in Iraq and Syria, and supports rebels who control Yemen’s capital, as well as Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militia.

In China, Europe and Russia, the agreement will be welcomed by companies eager to access an untapped market of 77 million people. With an economy bigger than Thailand’s and oil reserves rivaling Canada’s, Iran is the most important market still closed to major equity investors, according to investment bank Renaissance Capital.

Ending economic penalties could open Iran’s stock market to investors in early 2016, Renaissance’s Charles Robertson and Daniel Salter wrote in a report on Monday. Inflows could total $1 billion in the first year, they said.