WASHINGTON — Here are the latest developments involving an agreement between Iran and world powers in Vienna over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program (all times local EDT):
9:40 a.m.: Democrats in the U.S. Congress are expressing skepticism about the deal that President Barack Obama and Western powers reached with Iran.
Shortly after announcement of the agreement Tuesday, members of Obama’s party cautiously congratulated his effort but said they would review the deal closely in coming weeks.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said he would examine the deal to ensure it “adequately protects the interests” of the United States and its allies.
Congress is likely to vote in September on whether to approve or disapprove the deal, though Obama has extensive executive powers to end sanctions on Iran.
Republicans vehemently criticized the deal, as was widely expected. Speaker John Boehner said Obama had abandoned his own goals and the deal would likely fuel a nuclear arms race around the world.
9:25 a.m.: The Vatican welcomed the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and expressed hope that the progress would extend to other areas.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi told journalists the agreement “is viewed in a positive light by the Holy See” and noted that continued efforts “on the part of all involved will be necessary in order for it to bear fruit.”
Lombardi said that “it is hoped that those fruits will not be limited” to the nuclear program alone.
9:05 a.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin says the deal with Iran has brought the world “a sigh of relief.”
In a statement published on the Kremlin website, Putin also said that “Russia will do its utmost to make sure that the Vienna agreement is fully implemented, thus contributing to the international and regional security.”
8:50 a.m.: Syria’s President Bashar Assad says the signing of a nuclear agreement is “a historic turning point” in the history of Iran and its relationship with countries of the region and beyond.
Assad’s comments came as he congratulated Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the deal signed Tuesday.
Assad says coming days will witness a “strengthening of the constructive role played by Iran in supporting the rights of nations.”
Iran is a key supporter of Assad. It has poured in millions of dollars’ worth of help to prop up Assad’s army in recent years as it fights an insurgency and rebels seeking to topple his rule.
8:30 a.m.: Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, described the deal with Iran as historic, saying it “secures our fundamental aim — to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon — and that will help to make our world a safer place.”
He said the deal required leadership, courage and determination and that it was time to move forward and put it into place.
Cameron said Iran will reap economic benefits, so long as it delivers on everything it has agreed to do.
8:25 a.m.: Pakistan’s foreign ministry welcomed the agreement that was reached between Iran and world powers in Vienna.
In a statement released Tuesday, the ministry said Pakistan had consistently maintained that the Iran nuclear issue should be peacefully resolved through dialogue. Noting Pakistan’s position as a neighbor to Iran, the foreign ministry said such confidence-building measures “auger well for peace and security in our region.”
8 a.m.: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has dismissed claims that the Islamic Republic sought to make atomic weapons under its nuclear program.
Speaking live in a nationwide televised address Tuesday, Rouhani said: “Iran has never sought to manufacture a nuclear weapon and will never seek to manufacture a nuclear weapon.”
He added: “The whole world knows very well that manufacturing a nuclear bomb … is considered forbidden.”
The comment came during a speech in which Rouhani sought to appease hard-liners about the merits of the nuclear deal agreed to in Vienna between the Islamic Republic and world powers.
7:55 a.m.: Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says the deal announced Tuesday will impose strict limits and inspections on Iran’s nuclear program.
Hammond said in a statement that granting the International Atomic Energy Agency access to verify Iran’s adherence to the agreement will provide confidence that its nuclear program is peaceful.
Hammond said world leaders recognize that there will be concerns in the region.
“We will maintain our clear position in support of the Gulf states and against Iranian interference in their internal affairs,” he said.
Hammond said he hopes and expects that the agreement will herald change in Iran’s relations with its regional neighbors and the world. He said Iran will be encouraged to play a constructive role, “particularly in the struggle against violent Islamist extremism.”
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7:40 a.m.: The spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says the nuclear deal announced Tuesday between Iran and world powers in Vienna will be “a catalyst for regional stability.”
Saad al-Hadithi tells The Associated Press that the landmark agreement, designed to avert the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, is “an important step” and will lead to better unity in the fight against terrorism.
A U.S.-led coalition is conducting airstrikes in Iraq against the Islamic State militant group while neighboring Iran provides extensive logistical support on the ground. Despite their shared interests in defeating the Islamic State group, coalition nations have not worked directly with Iran, Iraq’s biggest ally, even as negotiations were under way in Vienna.
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7:30 a.m.: Secretary of State John Kerry says the Iran deal he spent the last 19 days negotiating in Vienna is “the good deal that we sought.” Throughout nearly two years of talks, U.S. officials have said that “no deal is better than a bad deal.”
Kerry that the U.S. and its partners would have finished the negotiations a long time ago had they been willing to settle for a lesser deal.
“We were determined to get this right and I believe our persistence paid off,” Kerry told reporters at a news conference in Vienna, adding that the agreement marked a historic day.
On crutches and still nursing a broken leg, Kerry also joked that Tuesday was a historic day for him personally because it was the first time in six weeks he had worn a pair of shoes.
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7:25 a.m.: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says “a new chapter” has begun in relations with the world and the Islamic Republic.
Rouhani made the comments Tuesday in an address from Tehran after world powers reached an agreement with Iran over its contested nuclear program.
Rouhani said: “The sanctions regime was never successful but at the same time it had affected people’s lives.”
Rouhani spoke live on state television flanked by two Iranian flags. He spoke after remarks by President Barack Obama were carried live on state television, a rarity in the Islamic Republic.
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7:15 a.m.: President Barack Obama says a landmark nuclear deal with Iran “is not built on trust, it is built on verification.”
Obama says all of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon are cut off under the terms of the agreement announced Tuesday. The president says Iran will remove two-thirds of its installed centrifuges and get rid of 98 percent of its stockpile of uranium.
In exchange, the president says Iran will receive phased in sanctions relief as it fulfills the provisions in the deal.
Obama threatened to veto any congressional legislation that would seek to block implementation of the agreement. He says that no deal “means a greater chance of more war” in the Middle East.
7:09 a.m.: President Barack Obama says every path to a nuclear weapon will be cut off for Iran under a historic agreement announced in Vienna.
Obama spoke from the White House Tuesday morning after the deal was announced.
Addressing skeptics of the agreement, Obama said, “This deal is not built on trust. It is built on verification.”
He says the nuclear agreement with Iran ensures that Iran “will not develop a nuclear weapon.”
He says Iran’s compliance will be verified by inspections.
Obama said the deal is not built on trust, but instead on verification.
7 a.m.: Speaking to journalists in Farsi, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif largely repeated the same remarks as European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
6:55 a.m.: European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are addressing journalists in Vienna.
Mogherini said Tuesday: “We are creating the conditions for building trust.”
She added: “No one ever thought it would be easy. … Despite twists and turns in the talks, hope and determination enabled us to overcome all the difficult moments.”
She said the deal involves Iran “under no circumstance” obtaining or building nuclear weapons.
6:50 a.m.: Germany’s main business lobby group is welcoming the Iranian nuclear deal, which it says could ultimately lead to a quadrupling of German exports to Iran.
The Federation of German Industries’ chairman, Ulrich Grillo, said modernizing Iran’s oil industry could offer “major market opportunities” for German machinery makers. He also pointed to the auto and chemical industries, the health sector and renewable energy as areas where German firms could do business.
Grillo says companies will need to be able to finance investments to trade with Iran and highlighted the need for quick resumption of bank transfers via the SWIFT system.
German exports to Iran totaled nearly 2.4 billion euros ($2.7 billion) last year. The industry federation says an increase to over 10 billion euros is realistic “in the medium term.”
6:40 a.m.: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says his country is pleased with the result of nuclear negotiations between world powers and Iran.
Speaking to journalists Tuesday in Vienna, Lavrov said Russia and China pushed to end an arms embargo on Iran as soon as possible. However, he said Iranians “agreed to compromise” since “the West insisted that the embargo should stay.”
In the end, Lavrov says Iran agreed to the embargo being kept in place for the next five years. However, Lavrov said Iran will be able to import arms during that period “on the condition of the notification and the verification with the U.N. Security Council.”
6:25 a.m.: A flag-draped stage awaits nuclear negotiators speaking at a news conference over the Iran deal.
Journalists began filing into a conference hall to listen to negotiators discuss the deal later Tuesday. On the stage, the flags of China, France, Germany, the European Union, Iran, Russia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. all stood in the background. Those are all the parties involved in the talks over the Islamic Republic’s contested nuclear program.
On Twitter, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini wrote: “hashtag IranTalks done. We have the agreement.”
5:55 a.m.: U.S. President Barack Obama will speak about the Iranian nuclear deal from the White House early Tuesday morning.
The quest for an accord with Iran has been a centerpiece of Obama’s foreign policy. The president’s diplomatic pursuit has deeply strained his relationship with Israel and angered congressional lawmakers in the U.S.
Following his remarks, Obama is expected to launch an aggressive campaign to sell the deal to skeptics at home and abroad.
5:10 a.m.: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking before the final meeting of negotiators at nuclear talks in Vienna, has praised their work.
Zarif said Tuesday: “I believe this is a historic moment. Today could have been the end of hope, but now we are starting a new chapter of hope.”
Zarif also said acknowledged the final agreement wasn’t perfect for any party, but said it helped end an “unnecessary crisis and … open new horizons.”
5 a.m.: Nuclear negotiators in Vienna have sat down for their final meeting.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sat next to each other as photographers snapped images. Mogherini whispered at times to Zarif, smiling.
Mogherini said: “What we have in front of us today … is the result of very hard work. … I’d like to thank all of us sitting around this table.”
She added: “It is a decision that can open the way to a new chapter in international relations. … I think this is a sign of hope for the entire world.”
4:55 a.m.: Iran’s state-run news agency is quoting the vice chairman of the Islamic Republic’s parliament as lauding his country’s nuclear negotiators.
IRNA is reporting Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabifard thanked the members of Iran’s nuclear negotiation team for their effort to protect the country’s interests.
Aboutorabifard was quoted Tuesday as saying: “The members of the negotiating team insisted on the rights of the nation encouraged by the guidelines provided to them by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”
The deal between Iran and the world powers will approve limitations on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
The West long has suspected Iran’s nuclear program has a military dimension, a charge Tehran denies.
4:50 a.m.: Iranian state television is quoting Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the country’s nuclear program, as saying that the deal with world powers respects his country’s “red lines.”
Salehi made the comments Tuesday.
He was quoted as saying: “After a roadmap was signed today with the (United Nations’ nuclear agency), all problems will be settled.”
Yukiya Amano, the head of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, earlier said a roadmap had been signed between his agency and Iran. It calls for his agency, with Iran’s cooperation, to make an assessment of issues relating to possible military dimensions of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program by the end of 2015.
4:25 a.m.: Pakistan hopes news of a deal over Iran’s contested nuclear program will help it complete a gas pipeline linking it to the Islamic Republic.
Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz said Tuesday he “welcomed” the deal.
Washington for years has opposed Pakistan’s bid to import natural gas from Tehran. Pakistan needs the pipeline to supply power to its weak electrical grid.
A Pakistani defense analyst, retired Gen. Talat Masood, told The Associated Press: “Because of this agreement … I think Washington will stop opposing the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.”
4:05 a.m.: Israel’s prime minister says a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is a “bad mistake of historic proportions.”
Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that an accord with Iran will allow it “to continue to pursue its aggression and terror in the region.”
Netanyahu has been at the forefront of efforts to block an agreement that would lift sanctions on Iran. Iranian officials repeatedly have threatened to destroy Israel in the past. Iran also backs militant groups that attack it.
The talks have been aimed at reaching a final deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. Iran long has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The West fears it could be used to build an atomic bomb.
4 a.m.: The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says a “roadmap” has been signed between it and Iran as a final deal has been struck over the Islamic Republic’s contested nuclear program.
Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the comments in Vienna on Tuesday, just a short time after diplomats acknowledged a deal had been made between world powers and Iran.
Amano said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s nuclear program, signed the roadmap. It calls for his agency, with Iran’s cooperation, to make an assessment of issues relating to possible military dimensions of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program by the end of 2015.
Amano says: “This is a significant step forward toward clarifying outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program.”
This item has been corrected to show that Ali Akbar Salehi is the head of Iran’s nuclear program.
3:50 a.m.: World oil markets are reacting to news that a final deal has been struck between Iran and world powers over the Islamic Republic’s contested nuclear program.
In trading Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude was down $1.20 in trading.
Iran is an OPEC member, but its oil production has been affected for years by sanctions over its nuclear program. Any easing of the sanctions could see Iran sell more oil, which could bring down crude prices.
3:20 a.m.: An Israeli Cabinet minister says a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers gives the Islamic Republic a “license to kill.”
Miri Regev, a former military spokeswoman who serves as Israel’s culture and sports minister, said Tuesday that the deal was “bad for the free world (and) bad for humanity.”
Israel has been at the forefront of efforts to block an accord that would lift sanctions on Iran. Iranian officials repeatedly have threatened to destroy Israel in the past. Iran also has backed militants groups that have attacked Israel.
Regev called on further lobbying against the deal reached in Vienna and said Congress could still block it.
The talks have been aimed at reaching a final deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. Iran long has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The West fears it could be used to build an atomic bomb.
2:45 a.m.: A senior Western diplomat says a landmark Iran nuclear agreement has been reached.
The diplomat made the comments Tuesday amid nonstop negotiations between Iran and world powers in Vienna.
The diplomat says it includes a compromise between Washington and Tehran that would allow U.N. inspectors to press for visits to Iranian military sites as part of their monitoring duties. Iranian state television earlier rejected such a demand.
The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement, expected after a 10:30 a.m. final meeting between all negotiators.
The talks have been aimed at reaching a final deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. Iran long has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The West fears it could be used to build an atomic bomb.
Associated Press writers George Jahn and Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
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