It Is Only Preliminary

The nuclear accord announced by Iran, the United States and five other world powers on Thursday was surprisingly specific and placed limits on Tehran’s nuclear program for the next 15 years.

Its central achievement was to reduce Iran’s existing stockpile of nuclear fuel and its capacity to produce new fuel to a level that would ensure it would take at least a year for Iran to manufacture enough fuel for an atomic weapon if it chose to violate the accord.

It took two years of negotiations, capped by eight tumultuous days and nights of talks that appeared on the brink of breakdown several times.

Negotiators produced a framework for a comprehensive agreement that parties say they intend to draft by June 30. If that final deal is reached and signed, it will be the most significant accord between Iran and major world powers since its Islamic revolution in 1979.