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Deal Reached On Iran's Nuclear Program; Obama Gives Live Speech Nuclear Deal; Interview With Sen. Lindsey Graham

Aired November 23, 2013 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's early morning in Geneva, Switzerland but there is a deal between Iran and the six powers, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. They worked hard on this deal. It will be very, very controversial. We are standing by to hear from the president of the United States. He is scheduled to address the nation in about 15 minutes or so from now.

But Candy, let's give our viewers here in the United States and around the world some perspective on what is going on.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, first of all Wolf, the U.S. and Iran have not had a relationship, basically, of any sort, certainly not official since 1979. We're in the month, by the way, of the anniversary of the taking hostage of Americans in the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

I want to slip in a little bit of news. We are also expecting to see a signing ceremony that will include secretary of state, U. S. secretary of state, the other signees to this, and in particular we're expecting to hear from the EU foreign policy chief. So we will also have that coming up.

And our Jim Acosta reporting from the White House quoting as I'm looking here a senior administration official who gives this outline of the deal. That it will halt progress of all nuclear programs, including Iraq. Now, that is the name, it's not Iraq the country, but the name of a heavy water nuclear reactor that really is still in the building stage. So we'll have to see what it stops. But it say it halts progress of that. It neutralizes the 20 percent stockpile, 20 percent is where they try to enrich the uranium 20 percent. Because that's what you need for building nuclear weapons. It would provide for intrusive inspections.

There is no recognition of Iran's right to enrich uranium. That was very important to the Iranians. So, we'll see how that worked out. The U.S. says it doesn't recognize anybody's right to enrich uranium which, of course again, is needed for those nuclear weapons. So, sanctions still enforced.

Now, we do know that some have been passed by Congress so the president couldn't unilaterally agree to that any way. But many, many nations have the sanctions. It will be interesting to see. I think that we had earlier heard that there is about $100 billion worth of sanctions right now against Iraq and that this might release over time, maybe eight or $9 billion worth.

You know, Wolf, as well as I do that we are expecting huge push back from region from both Israel and Saudi Arabia.

BLITZER: You know, Candy, this will be very controversial, this deal. Not only the Israelis and not only the Saudis and the united Arab emirates, other friendly countries in the Arab world, they were really worried that any easing of sanctions right now on Iran would backfire, it would undermine the entire effort to get Iran to end its nuclear program. So there's going to be pushback. There is going to be some pushback from members of Congress as well. Not only Republicans but there's a bunch of Democrats who have been very skeptical about this deal as well.

The secretary of state, John Kerry, the president of the United States, Barack Obama, they will have their work cut off for them to convince the skeptics out there, the critics that this is a good deal to convince the American public in the international community as well.

Let's go to Geneva. Jim Sciutto is our national security correspondent.

You have been there all day. It has been going on and on and on. We expected a deal, not necessarily -- it's after 4 a.m. over there in Geneva right now. Is that right, Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It is. It just passed 4:00 a.m. And you know, there were doubts, Wolf, right up to the final minutes. A lot of talks about how they were 98 percent the way there. But that last two percent were some of the most difficult issues from the beginning of these talks, including a definition of Iran's right to enrich. Iran demanding it. U.S. officials, Western officials saying they don't recognize such a right. And they have to find some sort of middle ground to make both sides happy. Clearly, they have found that middle ground. But I will tell you, Wolf, it was right up to the minute here when there were serious doubts expressed by both sides that they would come to an agreement.

BLITZER: There is a sense, Jim, that the new government, the new president of Iran, this is the sense that U.S. officials and the Obama administration has, President Rouhani and the foreign minister who is there in Geneva, Zarif, that they are a bit more moderate than Ahmendinejad, the predecessors, and this may been historic opportunity going back to '79-'80 when Iran held American diplomats hostage for 444 days. This maybe a new breakthrough. And as all of us remembered, the president made that phone call to President Rouhani when he was leaving New York at the United Nations general assembly.

Take us behind the scenes among secretary Kerry and his aides. Are they confident that the new government In Iran is capable of making major, major concessions as far as its nuclear program is concerned?

SCIUTTO: Well, they are. And what they have been saying leading up to the talks that they are going into this with their eyes open. In other words, they need to have it proven to them that Iran is willing to make these concessions. And when you look at these early details, Wolf, of the deal halting progress of the nuclear program including the Iraq heavy water facility, which is a second path to a bomb, a plutonium facility, neutralizing its 20 percent stockpile, stockpile of uranium enrich to 20 percent, one step below weapons grade.

No recognition, according to a senior administration official of a formal right to enrich and the most severe sanctions, those passed by Congress, those are going to remain in place. That the relief is going to come in unfreezing assets overseas.

When you look at these concessions from the Iranian side, Wolf, these are serious concessions. That if we were speaking two or three months ago before Rouhani was elected later this summer, these would have been considered the very farfetched. So, I think the administration, you'll find them making a case that this administration in Iran is different and they have shown that they are different by making concessions here.

Now, they will also say, this is just a six-month agreement. It is just early. This is just about beginning the talks for an end game and that the real proof to the pudding will come when they get to the end game. But certainly a substantial step here.

BLITZER: Certainly a substantial and certainly dramatic. And it's not every night that the president of the United States at 10:15 p.m. eastern announces that he is going to be making an address from the White House to the American people.

So, clearly, it is a very dramatic development, a very important development, potentially, extremely historic and maybe even strategic, if it does result in a major change in U.S.-Iranian relationship and a halt, if you will, or at least some sort of freeze of Iran's nuclear program.

The controversy will be the easing of some of these international sanctions on Iran during the six-month interim period. Some will criticize the administration for going it saying there is going to be -- it is going to encourage the Iranians to go forward. Others will say the architecture of the sanctions remain in place if the Iranians cheat like as North Koreans did when they had a deal like this with the international community. It will be easy to turn those sanctions back on.

The architecture, you will be hearing that word a lot from Secretary Kerry, presumably, from the president himself.

I think Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent is with us. Barbara, are you there?

Unfortunately she's not with us yet.

Jim Sciutto is with us in Geneva. Candy Crowley is here in Washington. Momentarily, we are expecting to hear from the president of the United States at historic agreement has been reached in Geneva, Switzerland between Iran on the one hand and the international community including the United States on the other. Jim, stand by for a moment. We'll take a quick break.

Much more of the news right after this.

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BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. We're watching breaking news.

An agreement has been reached in Geneva Switzerland between Iran and western powers, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Councils plus Germany. That includes Russia and China. An agreement to deal with Iran's nuclear program. This is an interim agreement.

Iran will scale back some of its nuclear activities. In exchange, the international community will ease some of the very painful sanctions that have been imposed on Iran other these past several years. Sanctions that have brought Iran, the new government of President Rouhani to the table in Geneva. And we will see what happens over the next few months.

The president of the United States getting ready to address the nation and the world from the White House momentarily. The president will be making a statement. And later, the secretary of state John Kerry, we believe, will provide more details on this agreement together with other foreign ministers. They have been negotiating with the foreign minister of Iran.

Jim Sciutto is in Geneva. Candy Crowley is here with me in Washington.

Jim, let's me quickly go back to you. Will they say this is a six- month interim deal? Is that the way this is being billed?

SCIUTTO: We believe it will be an interim deal. We don't know that it is six months. That had been the time spend discuss leading up to the end of this agreement. And it's interesting, Wolf, I should note, there is already a disagreement, at least, in the description of the terms of the deal out there. An Iranian official saying that there is, that Iran's right to enrich is recognized in this agreement, whereas U.S. official has said there is no official recognition of the right to enrich which may be the diplomatic ambiguity that the administration officials have been talking about coming in, that the west is willing to say that Iranian people have the private to have a peaceful nuclear program, but we are not going to formally recognized the right to enrich because we don't do that for any country. Whereas, this is very important for the Iranians to feel they have that right recognizes. And western official has said well, they can claim it. We won't necessarily dismiss or deny that. And this may be how they squared that circle in the fact that making both sides happier on that question of the right to enrich, the key question, really, leading up to these talks.

BLITZER: The president of the United States, we're told originally 10:15 p.m. eastern. It is approaching 10:15. He will be making a statement to the American people and to the world on this historic agreement that has been reached now with Iran.

Jim Acosta is our senior White House correspondent. He is joining us right now. You are getting more details, Jim, on what we might anticipate hearing from the president?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, so far, Wolf, just what we are hearing from the senior administration official and it is what Candy and Jim were reporting earlier, is what I heard earlier this evening from the senior administration official that this does, in their view, halt the progress of Iran's nuclear program including that key facility in Iraq neutralizing that 20 percent stockpile that is also been at really at the heart of some of these disagreements up until this initial interim agreement. And this administration official also emphasizing it will provide for intrusive inspections.

And as Jim was talking about, they say this deal does not offer a recognition of right to enrich. And what is interesting to know, Wolf, as we are about to hear the president speak, I think we are going to hear a heat in dose of caution from this president, letting Congress know, letting the American people know, that this is really a test from Iran. We heard this from White House press secretary Jay Carney for the last couple weeks. He has been repeating this in the briefing room when reporters have brought this situation up, these talks up, that basically the core sanction architecture, they like to put it, will remain in place and that some sanctions on the edges of what is applied on Iran and what has really been bringing to bear a lot of economic pain on that country and in the view, a lot of people bringing them to this point that most of the sanctions will remain in place. And I think you will hear the president emphasize that tonight.

And that one thing that Jay Carney has mentioned time and again from the briefing room, is that these sanctions can be turned on and they can be off just like a spigot. And so, this is a test for Iran. If Iran shows that is not holding up its end of the bargain, expect President Obama to say later on in just a few moments from now, that the sanctions can be cranked back up, Wolf.

BLITZER: Standby. Everybody stand by for a moment. We will be getting a two-minute warning from the White House before the president goes to the podium there. We'll take a quick break.

Much more of the news right after this.

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BLITZER: Welcome back to this historic coverage.

A deal has been reached with Iran on its nuclear program, a deal involving the five permanent members of the United Nations security council plus Germany. That is the P5-plus-one. The United States represented in Geneva by the secretary of state John Kerry. The negotiations continuing now until the last half hour or 45 minutes or so ago when they announced a deal was reached.

President Obama will address the nation and indeed the world momentarily from the White House to make a statement. Other official will follow up and make a statement as well. Explaining this is a six-month interim arrangement in which Iran's intensions will be tested. There will be an easing of international sanctions during this period. But if Iran cheats and live up to its commitment, those sanctions will be re-imposed very, very quickly. That's the bottom line message we'll hear from President Obama momentarily.

All of the reporters are standing by. Jim Sciutto in Geneva. Candy Crowley in here Washington. And Jim Acosta is over at the White House. Ian Lee is joining quickly from Jerusalem right now.

Any reactions yet from the Israelis. We know it is what, after 5:00 a.m. in Jerusalem?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, not yet, Wolf. We haven't heard anything. But the cabinet, as you know, will meet here in about four and a half hours time and we are expecting an official statement there.

But there is no question the Israelis have opposed any sort of deal from the beginning. They tried hard. They put a full-court press to convince the members of the P5-plus-one that this was a bad deal and that they were not going to stop and they were going to try to stop it from going forward.

Now, I pushed different Israeli officials about what happens next. What if the deal does go forward as many of them believed it would happen, and there was a lot of ambiguity there. But on Friday, the Israeli defense minister, Moshe Ya'alon, talked about the negotiations in Geneva. And he said we think the deal, that this deal is on the table is a bad one. And even if this deal is signed, there will be a lot to do afterwards to bring the Iranian regime, face to face with the dilemma of bomb or survival.

So, those are harsh words coming from the Israeli defense minister. They haven't said what their options are. But they said all options are on the table, Wolf.

BLITZER: And the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he was on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley last Sunday and he made it clear. He is bitterly opposed to this deal. Obviously, we are going to the exact details of what this latest arrangement has. We'll get the Israeli's reaction.

Stand by Ian. I want to get some other reaction from the region. Right now, Sara Sidner is joining us from Abu Dhabi. We know the Israelis have been bitterly opposed to this potential deal, but the Saudis, the Emirates, the Kuwaitis, others have been pretty opposed in the Arab world as well, those who fear Iran. Is that right, Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a good point that you make. You know, they make strange bedfellows, but Israel and Saudi Arabia are really in the same boat when it comes to their feelings about Iran and this potential deal.

And to get an idea how the Saudis are looking at this. They are very concerned, though, they haven't been as publicly vocal about that. but I want to bring you back to 2010, when Wiki-Leaks, basically they leaked this information, a diplomatic cable, and you saw that the Saudi king was basically saying to the United States, you need to go ahead and strike Iran. And he repeatedly asked the U.S. to do so, worried about their nuclear program.

And so, you can see some of the same language here, although, we haven't been hearing as publicly from Saudi Arabia. But they certainly been in the background. They are certainly worried about what this deal may bring and everybody is watching in the Middle East.

I think what the big concern is from some of the Arab nations is Iran's power in the region. That they will gain more power, that they will quietly continue to enrich uranium. You can hear that the Iranians are saying that is their right. But the big concern, obviously is if they get a nuclear weapon, how that changes the power in the region and the unintended consequences of a deal when the other people in the region are so worried about Iran, what they are going to do. And we will have to wait and see. Of course, the devil is in the details. Everyone is going to be looking at exactly what is said in this agreement. And if is it an interim agreement, what happens on the ground is going to be important. But yes, there is nervousness in this region for sure. And it is interesting to note that Israel and Saudi Arabia seem to be on the same page.

BLITZER: Yes. And the emirates and few of the other countries in the region as well.

All right, Sara, stand by. We are going to get your reaction. We are going to get reactions from the region, from around the world. We are following breaking news. Momentarily, the president will go to the microphone there in the White House, address the nation. And as I have been saying, indeed the world. The U.S. reaction. This historic agreement between the permanent members of the United Nations security council and Germany on the one hand and Iran on the other. We'll have about much more of the breaking news coverage right after this.

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BLITZER: I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. We want to welcome, once again, our viewers in the United States and around the world. We are following the historic breaking news out of Geneva, Switzerland. A deal has been reached with Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for an easy somewhat of international sanctions on Iran. This is an interim six-month arrangement. If the Iranians are deemed to be cheating by the international community those sanctions will be re-imposed quickly.

Only a few moments ago, the secretary of state John Kerry walked by our cameras in Geneva. We got a picture of him walking by. We shouted a question to him. Our reporter on the scene, Matthew Chance. He said something to the effect, I think he said we have a good arrangement.

We're going to be hearing momentarily from the president of the United States. He'll announce some of the substantive details later. The secretary of state John Kerry will brief reporters in Geneva as well.

The president was meeting informally in the oval office with some of his national security advisers including Dennis McDonough who is the White House chief of staff and Tony Blinken who is one of the deputy national security advisors and Ben Rhoads, the White House released the still phone. There you see it right there. They were in the oval office and the president was getting briefed on what was going on. We will hear directly from the president within a few minutes. He was supposed to start speaking about 15 minutes or so ago because this is not unusual. Things take a while to get organized, to get all the technical arrangements made in the White House so the president can address the nation.

Robin Wright is joining us, the scholar at the Woodrow Wilson center here in Washington. A long-standing journalist who covered Iran and U.S. -Iranian relations for a long time.

Robin, you got to admit, this is potentially a historic breakthrough. And if you go back to '79, '80, during the Jimmy Carter administration, when American diplomats were held hostage for 444 days and now in the last few months, the president of the United States has spoken with President Rouhani, the new president of Iran. And all of the sudden now, there is a deal on the nuclear project in Iran in Geneva.

Give some perspective because you have covered this for a long time.

ROBIN WRIGHT, SCHOLAR, WOODROW WILSON CENTER (via phone): Well, I actually covered the negotiations in Algeria for the release of the hostages. And in contrast in 1981 and those traumatic moments, the encounters to try to release the 52 Americans, they were never held face to face. They have to do it through (INAUDIBLE).

What's really striking about what has happened over the last two weeks is that there has been more contact between American and Iranian senior officials than in the entire 34 years combined. So, we're talking about not just specific terms of nuclear -- a deal. But also, the beginning of a relationship. They have had contact, long discussions. They've spent hours together. They have got to know each other. And that is tremendously important when you begin the tough six-month process that lies ahead in trying to come up with some kind of permanent deal.

I think the president is very lucky that it's a moment of -- the polls in the United States indicate that there is an appetite for this. That 64 percent of Americans are for a diplomatic outcome that would prevent some kind of military commitment or military engagement against Iran. That's a stark contrast to his approval on other issues.

So, in looking at the fact sheet that the White House just put out, one of the things that is also very interesting is that how much of what the U.S. set out to get, it got.

I had a briefing on the specifics before Geneva. And the U.S. basically got, I guess 90 percent of what it set out to get in Geneva.

BLITZER: Which would be pretty good.

We are now within that two-minute warning as the White House likes to say. The president will walk into that room and make his statement to the international community, including to the American people on this arrangement. And he will warn, I am sure, that during this six-month period, if there is cheating, if there isn't transparency, if the steps are not taken by the Iranian that the international community is now, demanding the U.S. can reinstate those sanctions, together with the international community. And he says, the architecture, he will say presumably, as other U.S. officials have said, the architecture for those sanctions remain in place even if there is a relative modest change.

The Iranian foreign minister, Zarif, he is speaking to reporters also. Let's quickly listen to what he says. He is actually getting ready to speak. We're going to hear from him. We'll tape him and make sure we hear what the foreign minister Zarif has to say. Western educated and presumably he will be speaking in English. His English is fluent.

But of course, once the president gets to the microphone over there in the White House, we'll hear what the president has to say. He will be delivering a statement. He is not going to be answering reporters' questions or anything along those lines. The president will be speaking. I suspect that foreign minister Zarif will want to hear what the president has to say once the president speaks. I guess they will make for the president to make his statement and then Zarif and the others will make subsequent statements reacting to what the president has said. It will be interesting to see if there are any discrepancies between what the U.S. and the other members of the Security Council, I believe, is Iran's responsibility and what the Iranians say. All right, of this will be significant. So, the president is about to walk into this room in the White House. Here he is. Let's listen.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good evening.

Today, the United States, together with our close allies and partners, took an important first step toward a comprehensive solution that addresses our concerns with the Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear program. Since I took office, I made clear my determination to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. As I've said many times, my strong preference is to resolve this issue peacefully. We've extended the hand of diplomacy. Yet for many years, Iran's been unwilling to meet its obligations to the international community.

So, my administration worked with Congress, the United Nations Security Council, and countries around the world to impose unprecedented sanctions on the Iranian government. These sanctions have had a substantial impact on the Iranian economy.

And with the election of a new Iranian president earlier this year, an opening for diplomacy emerged. I spoke personally with President Rouhani of Iran earlier this fall. Secretary Kerry has met multiple times with Iran's foreign minister. And we have pursued intensive diplomacy, bilaterally with the Iranians and together with our P5- plus-one partners, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, as well as the European Union.

Today, that diplomacy opened up a new path toward a world that is more secure. A future in which we can verify that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and that it cannot build a nuclear weapon.

While today's announcement is just a first step, it achieves a great deal. For the first time in nearly a decade, we have halted the progress of the Iranian nuclear program and key parts of the program will be rolled back.

Iran has committed to halting certain levels of enrichment and neutralizing part of its stockpiles. Iran cannot use its next generation centrifuges, which are used for enriching uranium. Iran cannot install or start up new centrifuges and its production of centrifuges will be limited.

Iran will halt work at its plutonium reactor and new inspections will provide extensive access to Iran's nuclear facilities and allow the international community to verify whether Iran is keeping its commitments.

These are substantial limitations which will help prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Simply put, they cut off Iran's most likely paths to a bomb.

Meanwhile, this first step will create time and space over the next six months for more negotiations to fully address our comprehensive concerns about the Iranian program. And because of this agreement, Iran cannot use negotiations as cover to advance its program.

On our side, the United States and our friends and allies have agreed to provide Iran modest relief while continuing to apply our toughest sanctions. We will refrain from imposing new sanctions and allow the Iranian government access to a portion of the revenue they have been denied through sanctions.

But, the broader architecture of sanctions will remain in place and we will continue to enforce them vigorously. And if Iran does not fully meet its commitments during this six-month phase, we will turn off the relief and ratchet up the pressure.

Over the next six months, we will work to negotiate a comprehensive solution.

We approach these negotiations with a basic understanding -- Iran, like any nation, should be able to access peaceful nuclear energy. But because of its record of violating its obligations, Iran must accept strict limitations on its nuclear program that make it impossible to develop a nuclear weapon.

In these negotiations, nothing will be agreed to unless everything is agreed to. The burden is on Iran to prove to the world that its nuclear program will be exclusively for peaceful purposes.

If Iran seizes this opportunity, the Iranian people will benefit from rejoining the international community and we can begin to chip away at the mistrust between our two nations. This would provide Iran with a dignified path to forge a new beginning with the wider world based on mutual respect.

If, on the other hand, Iran refuses, it will face growing pressure and isolation.

Over the last few years, Congress has been a key partner in imposing sanctions on the Iranian government and that bipartisan effort made possible to progress that was achieved today. Going forward, we will continue to work closely with Congress. However, now is not the time to move forward on new sanctions because doing so would derail this promising first step, alienate us from our allies and risk unraveling the coalition that enabled our sanctions to be enforced in the first place.

That international unity is on display today. The world is united in support of our determination to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

And Iran must know that security and prosperity will never come through the pursuit of nuclear weapons. It must be reached through fully verifiable agreements that make Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons impossible.

As we go forward, the resolve of the United States will remain firm, as will our commitments to our friends and allies, including Israeli and our Gulf partners, who have good reason to be skeptical about Iran's intentions.

Ultimately, only diplomacy can bring about a durable solution to the challenge posed by Iran's nuclear program.

As president and commander-in-chief, I will do what is necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But I have a profound responsibility to try to resolve our differences peacefully rather than rush towards conflict. Today, we have a real opportunity to achieve a comprehensive peaceful settlement, and I believe we must test it. The first step that we've taken today marks the most significant and tangible progress that we've made with Iran since I took office. And now, we must use the months ahead to pursue a lasting and comprehensive settlement that would resolve an issue that has threatened our security and the security of our allies for decades. It won't be easy and huge challenges remain ahead.

But through strong and principled diplomacy, the United States of America will do our part on behalf of a world of greater peace, security and cooperation among nations.

Thank you very much.

BLITZER: So there he is, the president of the United States, a brief statement, only about six minutes or so. The president praising this interim agreement with Iran to ease international sanctions.

Modestly, the president said in exchange for greater transparency and a scaling back to a certain degree of Iran's nuclear program over the next six months. The goal being that over the next six months, a complete new agreement would be achieved. That's what the president wants. That's what the president made clear.

He also made clear that if there are increased sanctions against Iran as some members of Congress are pushing for right now, that could derail the entire process and undermine the U.S. cooperation with the other permanent members of the Security Council and Germany, the six parties that have been part of this negotiation with Iran.

Candy Crowley is watching this is historic moments unfold.

The president reached our directly, not only to members of Congress warning them don't go at them and out on the table additional sanction, but also reaching out to the Israelis, at the Gulf states, the Emirates and the Saudis saying I understand your concern. You have good reason to be concern. But in effect saying, give peace a chance.

CROWLEY: Yes. And we will see. I mean, we already know, basically, I think what the reaction is going to be here particularly from Israel, which has been the most outspoken but as you point out and a number of Arab nations, they don't trust Iran. Iran is not just the nuclear -- the quest for nuclear weapons. It is its role in the region. It backs Syrian President Assad. Any number of things that the Arab gulf nations are very wary about.

But we do know that Israel has argued over and over again if you do not dismantle the ability to make a nuclear weapon, then none of this is really any good. That if the infrastructure remains that would allow Iran over the next six months to just start right back up again in six months, then it's not a deal worth the paper it has written on. So, there is a huge trust gap there from the Israelis and others. And there is also the feeling that once you begin to back off the sanctions there are so many countries that want to do business with Iran, that they will say, hey, we know which direction this is going, let's jump in and do business. So, that's pretty much, I think, where you will see the criticism coming from there and on Capitol Hill.

BLITZER: It will be interesting to see the formal official reaction from the Israelis, the Saudis, the Emirates and others in the region, as well as some reaction coming it from members of Congress. Already some pretty negative reaction.

Republican senator, John Cronyn, tweeting just a moment ago, amazing what the White House will do to distract the nation from Obamacare.

Lindsey Graham tweeting, unless the agreement require dismantling of the Iranian centrifuges, we really haven't gain anything.

And the foreign minister of Iran, foreign minister Javad Zarif saying, just a moment or so ago that the nuclear deal announced is based on mutual respect and equal footing and is an opportunity, in his words, to quote, "avert an unnecessary crisis."

We're going to have a lot more analysis, a lot more reaction. The breaking news out of Geneva, a historic agreement has been reached between the international community and Iran on its nuclear program. Much more coverage right after this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: This is CNN breaking news.

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BLITZER: For our viewers just joining us, a historic agreement has been reached in Geneva, Switzerland involving Iran's nuclear program. The Iranians have signed off thus have the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council including, of course, the United States and Germany as well.

Moments ago, President Obama was in the White House and he was praising this agreement.

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OBAMA: Today that diplomacy opened up a new path toward a world that is more secure. A future in which we can verify that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and that it cannot build a nuclear weapon.

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BLITZER: The British foreign secretary William Hague just a few moments ago said, tonight's agreement with Iran is good for the whole world including Middle Eastern countries and the people of Iran itself. This agreement shows that it is possible to work with Iran and through diplomacy addressed its practical problems.

The secretary of state John Kerry represented the United States in those negotiations in Geneva. He is there as well. It's approaching 5:00 a.m. in Geneva right now. But we expect to hear from John Kerry at some point fairly soon. There, you are looking at live pictures of John Kerry in Geneva. Vali Nasr is joining us right now on the phone. He is the Dean of Johns Hopkins University School and Advance international studies here in Washington, an expert on in Iran.

I know, Vali, you have met with foreign minister Zarif, Mohammad Javad Zarif. You suspect threatening of Iran, there is a historic opportunity to dramatically improve U.S.-Iranian relations right now. Is that right?

VALI NASR, DEAN, JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY (via phone): Well, you know, there is clearly a willingness on both sides to agree to things they have never agreed to before. And that mean that we are clearly in new territory.

Now, the deal is obviously the beginning of a much longer process. We knew all along that there is not going to be a final deal in these meetings in Geneva. But having a deal, an agreement between the United States and Iran for the first time in 30 years is a milestone. And we hope that it will be the first step to something that is bigger and that it will be verifiable and it will be a credible deal. But there is no question that , you know, if we went back a year ago, we would never have conceived that what happened tonight would have happened.

BLITZER: And it's happening, you believe because Ahmendinejad is no longer the president but Rouhani, a more moderate leader as the president. Is that your sense, Vali?

NASR: Yes, it is. And a lot of credit should be given to Iran's foreign minister. He has clearly driven this process an able to convince his own leaders that he knows what he is doing in Geneva and they have to give him latitude. And I think the great, you know, credit should go to John Kerry as well for pushing very hard where in Washington and the other allies. I mean, you have an historic opportunity here because you have two very seasoned diplomats who have taken risks and gone on a limb to try to push the two sides closer to one another. And I think, you know, what happened tonight is really speaks to that accomplishment.

BLITZER: Vali, hold on for a moment. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, is joining us on the phone right now. You have been skeptical all along. What is your reaction, Senator?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA (via phone): I really don't know, Wolf. If they -- my first question is, are they required to dismantle any centrifuges? The question really for the world is will Iran under this deal have to basically dismantle their capability to enrich uranium in a serious way? Halting the enrichment is one thing. Dismantling the program is another.

BLITZER: What we heard from the president, Senator, is that the next generation of centrifuges would be halted. There would be a halting of some of the enrichment. They would roll back several parts of the current nuclear program -- at least during the six-month interim period, a testing period on both sides to see if they can reach a broader agreement over these six months. Anything wrong with that? GRAHAM: Well, the question is, will they have the right to enrich? I mean, do you know if they're going to have the right to enrich uranium at the end of the day?

BLITZER: Well, the Iranians say they do have that right. The U.S. has been saying that right doesn't take place. But the president did they will halt -- it was unclear to me, all enrichment or almost - most of the enrichment. But there would be some sort of halt of the enrichment program in Iran, Senator. I think we are going to get some more details in the next hour or so. But these are legitimates questions.

GRAHAM: Sure. The difference between halting what you have and dismantling what you have is significant. They have enough advanced centrifuges without adding more to take 3.5 percent uranium to 90 percent in a matter of months. So, if all we have done is left in place what they've got and it hasn't been rolled back or dismantled significantly, you still have the capability to enrich to weapons grade. And the question is, should they be allowed to enrich given their behavior at all? I don't know the answer to that basic question.

BLITZER: Very quickly, the president made an appeal to Congress. Don't impose additional sanctions during this interim agreement because that will undermine the whole thing. Are you ready to heed his advice?

GRAHAM: I think you will see the Congress impose additional sanctions that won't take place for six months with some conditions. If Iran meets certain conditions, they will never go into effect at all. But you will see the Congress have new sanctions that will be delayed for six months. But we will define what success will look like before the sanctions can be waived in the future. So, the Congress is going to be focusing on the outcome.

BLITZER: All right, Senator Graham, thanks very much.

Secretary Kerry is now speaking to reporters in Geneva.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: -- and we're honored to be here, even at this very early hour of the morning. I particularly want to thank my colleagues from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, China, and especially Lady Kathy Ashton, who is not only a good friend, but a persistent and dogged negotiator and someone who has been staying at this for a long period of time. And we are very grateful very her stewardship of these negotiations.

And if I can take a moment, I really want to thank the team from the United States. There have been a great many people involved in this effort for a long period of time now, both here in Switzerland with us now but also back in the United States and they know who they are. But I will single out our undersecretary of state, Wendy Sherman, who has been a dogged, unbelievable patient hand and a skillful hand. And she has helped through long and arduous months, years of our stewardship of our part of this within the P-5 Plus One. And I'm very grateful to her for those long efforts and all of her team.

At the United Nations General Assembly in September, President Obama asked me and our team to work with our partners in order to pursue a negotiated settlement or solution with respect to the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

Last month, the P-5 Plus One entered into a more accelerated negotiation after a number of years of meetings in various parts of the world in efforts to engage Iran in serious negotiations.

The purpose of this is very simple, to require Iran to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and to ensure it cannot acquire a nuclear weapon. And the reason for this is very clear. The United Nations Security Council have found they were not in compliance with MPT or other IAEA and other standards. And obviously, activities such as a secret, multi-centrifuge mountain hideaway, which was being used for enrichment, raised many people's questions, which is why ultimately sanctions were put in place.

Today, we are taking a serious step toward answering all of those important questions that have been raised through the United Nations Security Council, through the IAEA and by individual countries. And we are taking those steps with an agreement that impedes the progress in a very dramatic way of Iran's principal enrichment facilities and parts of its program and ensures they cannot advance in a way that will threaten our friends in the region, threaten other countries, threaten the world.

The fact is that if this step -- first step leads to what is our ultimate goal, which is a comprehensive agreement, that will make the world safer. This first step, I want to emphasize, actually rolls back the program from where it is today, enlarges the breakout time, which would not have occurred unless this agreement existed. It will make our partners in the region safer.

BLITZER: All right, so there is the secretary of state giving some more details. John Kerry in Geneva on this historic agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, an agreement reached only a little while ago in Geneva between Iran on the one end and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany on the other hand.

We're going to have extensive coverage of this beginning tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. eastern on "NEW DAY," a special live "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley at 9:00 a.m., a special live "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington.

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