Iran has agreed to tougher on site inspections of its nuclear facilities and to halt uranium enrichment. The agreement comes after intense talks in Tehran between top Iranian officials and the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Britain.
The agreement, which was announced 10 days before an international deadline, followed a meeting between top Iranian officials and the foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany.
Iran has agreed to suspend uranium enrichment, at least temporarily, and to allow tougher U.N. inspection of its nuclear sites.
The International Atomic Energy Agency had given Iran until October 31 to prove it does not have a clandestine nuclear weapons program. It wanted Iran to stop uranium enrichment and to sign an additional protocol to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that allows international inspectors to enter any site they choose without notice.
A joint Iranian, British, French, and German declaration said Iran would begin cooperating with the IAEA in accordance with the protocol, even before ratifying it.
The United States accuses Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program. Iran denies this, saying it needs a nuclear program for civilian purposes, like creating electricity.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council Chief, Hassan Rohani said Iran would suspend the enrichment program as a temporary, confidence-building measure.
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the deal opened a serious process to resolve the nuclear issue between Iran and the international community.
