World
Celebrations broke out in Tehran on Thursday night as a landmark framework agreement for a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers was announced, reports Reuters.
Videos posted on social media showed cars driving through the streets of Tehran with honking horns and passengers clapping. Twitter posts described people dancing in the streets of north Tehran and passing out sweets.
Some posted pictures of a small gathering in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In one video posted on Facebook, a group of women can be heard clapping and chanting "Thank you, Rouhani." in praise of President Hassan Rouhani.
The framework agreement is likely to boost Rouhani's popularity among the millions of young Iranians who voted for him in 2013. So far, there has been no overt criticism of the framework agreement by Rouhani's hardline critics.
Appearing on state TV shortly after it was announced, hardline parliamentarian Alaeddin Borujerdi aimed his barbs at U.S. President Barack Obama and his characterization of Iran's role in the region rather than the agreement.
The framework agreement was reached after more than a week of intense diplomacy between an Iranian team of negotiators led by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and negotiating teams from the United States, Britain, Russia, France, China and Germany.
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and the framework agreement is intended to introduce curbs and inspections on the program.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the framework nuclear agreement with Iran Thursday in a telephone conversation with President Obama, putting him on a collision course with the U.S. and his closest allies, reports Fox News.
Netanyahu said he voiced his "strong opposition" to the deal -- which is being welcomed around much of the globe -- and said a final deal based on this agreement would "threaten the survival of Israel."
He added that the deal would legitimize Iran's nuclear program and increase Iranian "aggression and terror." Netanyahu has been a vocal critic of the world's negotiations with Iran, and Israeli officials gave Thursday's framework agreement, announced in Lausanne, Switzerland, a cool reception. But Netanyahu could find a tough time trying to rally opposition to it as it is finalized in the coming months.
His best bet to make Obama's diplomatic breakthrough more palatable could lie with the Republican-dominated U.S. Congress. Netanyahu believes Iran is trying to develop a nuclear bomb — a concern that has been shared by much of the world. He considers a nuclear-armed Iran a threat to Israel's very existence, given Iranian leaders' calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, Iran's support for hostile militant groups across the region and its development of long-range ballistic missiles.
"Any deal must significantly roll back Iran's nuclear capabilities and stop its terrorism and aggression," Netanyahu said on Twitter just ahead of the announcement in Lausanne.
