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From left, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pose for a group photo at the United Nations building in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday July 14, 2015. Image Credit: AP

Vienna: Iran and six major powers have reached a historic nuclear deal, which will grant Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, it was announced on Tuesday.

In  a press conference, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called the nuclear deal a "win-win solution" and "new chapter of hope".

In the UAE, President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan congratulated Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the historic nuclear agreement. Shaikh Khalifa expressed his wishes that the agreement would contribute to enhancing security and stability in the region.

European Union's foreign policy chief also tweeted: "Iran talks done. We have the agreement".

The Tuesday nuclear deal caps more than a decade of on-off negotiations with an agreement that could potentially transform the Middle East.

Read the 159-page text of the deal here.

US President Barack Obama reacted to the announcement with guarded optimism as he tried to pitch it to the US Congress and the public. "It would be irresponsible to walk away from this deal... We've come a long way to reach this point... many years of sanctions and many months of intense negotiations."

Tweets sent out by the White House explained what the deal is about.

Obama also warned he will veto any legislation that blocks the Iran deal.

"The sanctions have proven so effective," Obama said as he thanked US' negotiating partners. "It shows what we can do when we are united. America does not deal with the world only with our might or with our principles, we're stronger because of our partners," said Obama.

Under the deal, sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and United Nations would be lifted in return for Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear programme that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.

The deal is a major policy victory for both Obama and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist elected two years ago on a vow to reduce Iran's diplomatic isolation.

Both men face scepticism from powerful hardliners at home after decades of enmity between countries that referred to each other as "the Great Satan" and a member of the "axis of evil".

Marathon talks

Final talks in Vienna involved nearly three weeks of intense round-the-clock negotiations between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.


German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Philip Hammond and US Secretary of State John Kerry talk prior to a plenary session at the United Nations building in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, July 14, 2015.

Western diplomats said under the final agreement, Iran had accepted a "snapback" mechanism, under which some sanctions could be reinstated in 65 days if it violated the deal.

A UN weapons embargo would remain in place for five years and a ban on buying missile technology would remain for eight years.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sent out several celebratory tweets, saying the deal will open a "new chapter" -- especially in the lives of young Iranians.

In a televised speech after the dead was announced, Rouhani said the deal protects Iran's nuclear achievements, and annuls "illegal" sanctions, including UN bans.

The deal will still face scrutiny by the U.S. Congress, controlled by opposition Republicans who are sceptical of the Obama administration's overtures to a country that has been an enemy since Iranian revolutionaries stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979.

U.S. allies in the region, particularly Israel and Saudi Arabia, are also worried about an agreement that would benefit Iran.

But there is also strong reason for the United States to improve its relations with Iran, as the two countries face a common foe in Islamic State, the Sunni Muslim militant group that has seized swathes of Syria and Iraq.

'New horizons'
 
In Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said a nuclear deal sealed with world powers on Tuesday will open "new horizons" now that "this unnecessary crisis" has been resolved.

In a message on his Twitter account, Rouhani said the successful talks had shown "constructive engagement works."

There can now be "a focus on shared challenges", he added, alluding to Sunni Muslim extremists of the Islamic State group, who from their base in Iraq and Syria are launching attacks on both Shiite and Western targets worldwide.

For Iran, the end of sanctions could bring a rapid economic boom by lifting restrictions that have drastically cut its oil exports and hurt its imports. The prospect of a deal has helped push down global oil prices because of the possibility that Iranian supply could return to the market.

No proliferation risk: Britain

The limited nuclear enrichment research and development work Iran is permitted to engage in under a nuclear deal it concluded with major powers on Tuesday will not increase the risk that Tehran could get an atomic weapon, Britain said.

"We are confident that the restricted R&D opportunities that are available to Iran under this agreement will maintain the breakout time, which has always been our primary consideration," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told reporters.

The goal of the agreement concluded by the two sides is to increase the amount of time it would take Iran to produce nuclear fuel for a single atomic weapon - so-called "breakout time" - to one year from current estimates of two to three months. Iran denies having nuclear weapons ambitions.

Hammond added that the deal also offered an opening for Iran to improve its relations with the West.

UAE congratulates Iran

President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan congratulated Iran's Rouhani on the historic nuclear agreement. Shaikh Khalifa expressed his wishes that the agreement would contribute to enhancing security and stability in the region.

Similar cables were sent to Rouhani by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Oil prices tumble

Oil prices tumbled on Tuesday as Iran and six global powers reached a nuclear deal that could see an easing of sanctions against Tehran and a gradual increase in its oil exports just as Asian economies showed further signs of weakness.

Iran and six major powers have reached a historic nuclear deal, which will grant Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, an Iranian diplomat said on Tuesday.

Front-month Brent crude futures dropped about 1.6 percentage points, or 89 cents, to $56.96 a barrel at 0624 GMT.

US crude was trading down $1.08 at $51.12 per barrel.

'License to kill'

"This deal is a historic surrender by the West to the axis of evil headed by Iran," Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said in a message on Twitter.

"Israel will act with all means to try and stop the agreement being ratified."

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."

Regev called on further lobbying against the deal reached in Vienna and said Congress could still block it.

 

Key points:

  • Iran has accepted "snapback" plan that will restore sanctions within 65 days if it violates nuclear deal with six world powers, according to diplomats.

  • Under the deal, the UN weapons embargo on the country will remain in place for five years.

  • Missile embargo will be in place for eight years

  • EU says Iran and major powers to hold full ministerial meeting on nuclear talks at 8.30GMT (12.30pm UAE time)

  • IAEA Head Amano says he has signed a roadmap with Iran to clarify past and present outstanding issues.