The nuclear accord with Iran required a difficult series of compromises for world powers and Tehran.
For President Barack Obama, it meant climbing down from demands that Tehran halt almost all of its enrichment of potential bomb-making material and shutter an underground facility possibly impervious to an air attack. It also meant dropping pledges to secure "anytime, anywhere" inspections and Iran's complete answering of questions related to past weapons work.
Full StoryLebanese politicians had on Wednesday mixed reactions to a historic accord struck a day earlier by Iran, the United States, and five other world powers to check Tehran's nuclear efforts short of building a bomb.
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said the deal could have a positive impact on Lebanon's presidential elections. But stressed that granting Christians their rights cannot be influenced by any change in the world.
Full StorySpeaker Nabih Berri revealed that Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal Movement have made “new proposals” that would be on track to be implemented.
Berri, whose remarks were published in several local newspapers on Wednesday, told his visitors that the two parties' officials “made new suggestions on a win-win basis” during their latest round of talks.
Full StoryU.S. President Barack Obama told a skeptical Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday that the freshly sealed Iran nuclear deal was in Israel's national interest and dispatched his secretary of defense to the Jewish state for talks.
The White House said Obama called the Israeli Prime Minister, who has described the accord as a "historic mistake," announcing Ash Carter would travel to Israel next week.
Full StoryIran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday praised the "honest and hard endeavors" of the country's nuclear negotiating team after a deal was struck with world powers in Vienna.
The message, carrying the #IranDeal hashtag on Khamenei's official Twitter account, was his first reaction to the agreement and it came after he met President Hassan Rouhani and the cabinet at an iftar dinner in Tehran.
Full StoryEgypt said it hoped the historic nuclear deal agreed by world powers and Iran Tuesday would prevent an arms race in the Middle East and help achieve peace in the region.
A foreign ministry statement said it "hopes the deal would prevent an arms race in the Middle East, clear it from any weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, and lead to peace and stability in the region."
Full StoryAn exiled Iranian opposition group known for making revelations about Tehran's nuclear drive in the past regretted Tuesday that Iran was allowed to continue enriching uranium under a historic deal.
Reached on day 18 of marathon talks between the 5+1 countries -- the United States, Russia, France, Britain, China and Germany -- and Iran, the deal aims at resolving a 13-year standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Full StoryThe United Arab Emirates Tuesday welcomed the historic nuclear deal agreed by world powers and Iran, with an official saying it could turn a "new page" for the Gulf region.
"Iran could play a (significant) role in the region if it revises its policy and stops interfering in the internal affairs of countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen," a UAE official said in the first reaction from the Gulf Arab monarchies to the Vienna accord.
Full StoryThe deal announced by world powers Tuesday reining in Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief will only "embolden" Tehran and trigger an atomic weapons race, House Speaker John Boehner said.
"Instead of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, this deal is likely to fuel a nuclear arms race around the world," the Republican Boehner said in a statement, adding that U.S. lawmakers will "review every detail of this agreement very closely."
Full StoryTo critics, lifting sanctions on Iran under an historic deal reached Tuesday will help its ability to foment unrest in the Middle East, but some experts say the nuclear issue has become a sideshow to more immediate crises in the region.
After years of negotiations, climaxing in an 18-day marathon in Vienna, world powers secured a deal with Tehran aimed at ensuring Iran does not obtain the nuclear bomb.
Full Story