Historic Iranian Nuclear Deal Relies On 'Verification,' Not Trust

With guest host Jane Clayson.

A landmark six-nation deal with Iran over nuclear weapons. We'll pore over the deal and look at what comes next.

The news broke out of Vienna very early this morning that there is a new nuclear deal between the so-called P5-Plus-One and Iran. The stock journalistic phrases apply: Marathon negotiations. Historic agreement.  But is it a good deal? Well, that conversation begins now. You can be certain that today, nuclear experts, diplomats, and a lot of folks on Capitol Hill are all poring over the one-inch thick document, trying to figure out whether it amounts to a rock-solid clampdown on Iran’s nuclear research --or a big mistake. This hour On Point: an Iranian nuclear deal has been struck.
-- Jane Clayson

Thomas Erdbrink, Tehran bureau chief for the New York Times. (@thomaserdbrink)

Jay Solomon, foreign affairs and national security reporter for The Wall Street Journal. (@wsjsolomon)

Michael Singh, senior fellow and managing director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Former senior director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council. (@michaelsinghdc)

Robert Einhorn, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Former member of the Obama Administration's Iran negotiating team.

Phil Ewing, senior defense reporter for POLITICO. (@philewing)

The Wall Street Journal: Iran, World Powers Reach Nuclear Deal -- "Iran reached a landmark nuclear agreement with the U.S. and five other world powers, a long-sought foreign policy goal of the Obama administration that sets the White House on course for months of political strife with dissenters in Congress and in allied Middle Eastern nations."

Washington Post: Israel blasts Iran deal as 'dark day in history' — "Israeli leaders across the political spectrum condemned in stark apocalyptic language the Iranian nuclear pact announced by the United States and world powers Tuesday, calling it a historic mistake that frees Iran to sponsor global terror while assembling the information and materials to build a nuclear weapon."

POLITICO: Full text of the Iran deal — "Iran envisions that this JCPOA will allow it to move forward with an exclusively peaceful, indigenous nuclear programme, in line with scientific and economic considerations, in accordance with the JCPOA, and with a view to building confidence and encouraging international cooperation. In this context, the initial mutually determined limitations described in this JCPOA will be followed by a gradual evolution, at a reasonable pace, of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, including its enrichment activities, to a commercial program exclusively peaceful purposes, consistent with international non-proliferation norms."