Obama and Kerry praise results of Iran nuclear deal on its first anniversary

Both President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry marked the first anniversary of the Iran nuclear deal, which was reached one year ago.

The President, in a statement, said, “Today marks one year since the conclusion of the Iran nuclear deal—known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—by representatives of the United States, Iran, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, and the European Union.  Over the last year, the Iran Deal has succeeded in rolling back Iran's nuclear program, avoiding further conflict and making us safer.”

Secretary Kerry, speaking in Paris, noted the significant changes in Iran’s nuclear capabilities: “19,000 centrifuges have been put under IAEA scrutiny and storage. The Arak plutonium reactor, plutonium – the core of that reactor has been completely dismantled and destroyed. The 98 percent of the stockpile that Iran had of enriched uranium has been moved out of the country, and there is a day-to-day monitoring of the remaining limit to 300 kilograms. The limitation exists today on enrichment at 3.67 percent, and we have an ongoing process of exchange of information and dialogue which is producing a significant ability to be able to monitor effectively, and, if and when there is a question, to be able to deal with those questions.”

Kerry addressed the fact that many thought the pact would not work. There was particularly strong opposition to the nuclear pact in Congress. The Secretary said, “So as of today, one year later, a program that so many people said will not work, a program that people said is absolutely doomed to see cheating and be broken and will make the more dangerous, has, in fact, made the world safer, lived up to its expectations, and thus far produced an ability to be able to create a peaceful nuclear program with Iran living up to its part of this bargain and obligation.”

Both he and the President stressed both the fact that the world is safer due to the pact, and the value of diplomacy. Kerry followed up his observation that Iran has met his expectations, saying, “That is very significant, and what I think it underscores are several things. Number one, the world is safer today because conflict in the region is not calculated on the basis of the potential of a nuclear confrontation or nuclear explosion, and because we have the ability to be able to work through some issues which we’ve seen, for instance with our sailors who stumbled into Iranian waters and within 24 hours we were able to get them out. That could not have happened prior to this agreement having taken place.

“It also, I believe, underscores the value of diplomacy itself. And that’s why we will continue to try to work first, before we decide to go into conflict, to see if we can resolve these kinds of problems.”

The President concluded, “The JCPOA demonstrates what can be achieved by principled diplomacy and a sustained commitment to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons. America's willingness to engage directly with Iran opened the door to talks, which led to the international unity and sustained engagement that culminated in the JCPOA.  We still have serious differences with Iran, but the United States, our partners, and the world are more secure because of the JCPOA.”

The Gayly – July 14, 2016 @ 1 p.m.