Today's announcement of a framework for a comprehensive agreement between the United States, our allies, and Iran that will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is a significant diplomatic achievement.
The intrusive inspection regime that includes continuous surveillance of Iran's enrichment facilities, uranium mines and mills, centrifuge production and storage facilities -- the entire nuclear supply chain -- makes it nearly impossible for Iran to 'cheat' without detection.
Much of Iran's nuclear infrastructure will be rolled back or halted altogether. Only about 5,000 of its current 19,000 centrifuges will be allowed to enrich uranium, the heavy-water Arak reactor will be rebuilt to specifications agreed to by the P5+1 (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Germany) and Iran will be prohibited from producing weapons-grade plutonium. No uranium will be enriched over 3.67 percent for 15 years.
The fact that sanctions will be lifted only when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified that Iran has been in full compliance is an incentive for Iran to cooperate.
I am grateful to President Barack Obama, Secretary John Kerry and his team, as well as our allies for establishing this robust and verifiable agreement. Over the next three months the t's must be crossed and i's dotted in order to put the agreement into action. I will be working in Congress to make sure that we play a constructive role in supporting this historic diplomatic achievement, one that will make the region -- including our closest ally, Israel -- the United States and the world safer.