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Hezbollah: Iran in ‘nuclear club’ after deal

by Mark Hensch - 04/04/15 12:07 PM ET

A Hezbollah leader Friday hailed this week’s tentative framework for Iran’s nuclear weapons program as a major win for the Islamic republic.

Hezbollah MP Nawar Sahli praised the agreement as an Iranian “victory” in his remarks, the Lebanon Daily Star reported Saturday. Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist group in Lebanon closely linked with Tehran and its clerics of the same faith.

{mosads}“There is a global recognition of Iran as a member of the nuclear club,” Sahli said of the deal’s implications.

“We hope the agreement will have positive repercussions on security and stability in the region, even though Iran had said the nuclear issue was separate from regional conflicts,” he added.

President Obama announced the landmark accord Thursday in Washington, D.C. He called it a “historic” moment after months of negotiations in a Rose Garden address that same evening.

“It is a good deal, a deal that meets our core objectives,” Obama said. “If this framework leads to a final comprehensive deal, it will make our country, our allies and our world safer.”

Thursday’s accord eases economic sanction on Iran in exchange for greater restrictions on its nuclear energy initiatives. Tehran has argued its atomic ambitions are entirely civilian, but critics worry it is actively pursuing nuclear bombs instead.

Secretary of State John Kerry led U.S. diplomatic wrangling with Iran in Lausanne, Switzerland, last week. America was aided by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia on its side of the bargaining table.

Iran has promised it will abide by several new regulations on its nuclear program in exchange for escaping sanctions. Its government has agreed to restrictions on its supply of centrifuges, caps on its amount of uranium and more frequent atomic inspections under the new deal.

The U.S. and its allies comprise the so-called P5+1 nations in the talks. Thursday’s outline will serve as a framework for a final deal due June 30.

– Updated at 12:17 p.m.

Tags John Kerry