The group of world powers has finally completed a deal with Iran over its nuclear programme.
The foreign ministers of Iran, the EU, US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany held a concluding session at the United Nations headquarters in Vienna this morning, formally announcing the agreement at 10.30 UK time.
Reacting to the the deal, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the "Iran nuclear deal is a bad mistake of historic proportions."
The nuclear deal with Iran will happen. Question is, what will it look like?
While the 500-page nuclear deal has yet to be released, Reuters reported that Iran had agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to enter any suspicious Iran facility, including military bases, to check whether there is any unauthorised nuclear activity. However, the inspectors' visits will be coordinated in consultation with Iran and the world powers.
The Reuters report said that the removal of some sanctions would still be conditioned on Iran's willingness to expose past military nuclear activity to the IAEA.
According to AP, Iran secured a clause giving it the right to challenge UN requests to send inspectors to suspicious sites. In these cases, an board with representatives Iran and the powers would decide on the issue.
US President Barak Obama said that the deal is built "not on trust" but on "verification" and that there will be "very clear consequences" if Iran does not stand by the deal.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond welcomed the deal. He said in a statement:
"After more than a decade of tough negotiations we have reached an historic agreement that will impose strict limits and inspections on Iran's nuclear programme.
“Under the agreement, Iran will grant the International Atomic Energy Agency access to verify adherence to the restrictions placed on its nuclear programme, giving the international community confidence that the programme is, and will remain, exclusively peaceful.
"In return, once Iran has taken key steps to introduce these restrictions, the international community will lift some of its sanctions on Iran, delivering significant economic and financial benefits.
“Having reached this important agreement, our focus will now be on its swift and full implementation to make sure that a nuclear weapon remains beyond Iran's reach.
"We will continue to work closely with our international partners to encourage Iran to play a transparent and constructive role in regional affairs, particularly in the struggle against violent Islamist extremism."
Listen to Brigadier General Mike Herzog, BICOM's senior visiting fellow, give his assessment of the deal with Iran and the strategic implications of the deal on Israeli security:
