US conservatives have lined up to condemn the deal reached between major world powers and Iran.
The agreement limits Iranian nuclear activity in return for the lifting of crippling international economic sanctions.
The
US Congress has 60 days in which to consider the deal, though President
Barack Obama has said he will veto any attempt to block it.
Israel's government has strongly criticised the agreement.
Negotiations between Iran and six world powers - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany - began in 2006.
The
so-called P5+1 want Iran to scale back its sensitive nuclear activities
to ensure that it cannot build a nuclear weapon. Iran, which wants
international sanctions lifted, has always insisted that its nuclear
work is peaceful.
Could US Congress torpedo the deal?
It has 60 days to review the agreement
During that time, President Obama cannot lift the sanctions Congress has imposed on Iran
Congress can reject the deal, and keep the sanctions in place, but Mr Obama can veto that
Congress would need a two-thirds majority to overturn the veto, which is unlikely
A good deal, for now? Deal shakes Middle East media Good or bad for Middle East? Iran: Now a business opportunity? The Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, John Boehner, said the deal would only "embolden" Tehran.
"Instead
of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, this deal
is likely to fuel a nuclear arms race around the world," he added.
Lindsey
Graham, a Republican senator and presidential candidate, described it
as a "terrible" deal that would make matters worse.
Media captionIranian President Hassan Rouhani said the sanctions regime was never successful, but that it had affected people's lives
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a "stunning historic
mistake" that would provide Iran with "hundreds of billions of dollars
with which it can fuel its terror machine and its expansion and
aggression throughout the Middle East and across the globe".
He said he did not regard Israel as being bound by this agreement. "We will always defend ourselves," he added.
Analysis: Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor
The
agreement will change the Middle East, perhaps a lot, but at the moment
no-one knows exactly how. The biggest question is whether it will
reduce or increase the turmoil in the Middle East.
Iran and the
world's big powers, most significantly the US, now have a habit of
working together - but don't assume that will help automatically to
resolve the crises and wars that Iran, the US and their allies are
involved with in the region.
There is a danger that mutual
suspicion will heat up the Middle East's fault lines, especially the
cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia - and with it sectarian conflict
between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
But the agreement in Vienna
removes Iran's nuclear programme from the danger list. Two years ago, as
Israel threatened to bomb Iran, it looked likely to lead to a major
Middle East war. That in itself is a major diplomatic achievement. President Obama said that with the deal, "every pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off" for Iran.
In
a televised address, he insisted the deal would make the world "safer
and more secure", and provided for a rigorous verification regime. "This
deal is not built on trust - it is built on verification," he said.
Mr Obama said the agreement would oblige Iran to:
remove two-thirds of installed centrifuges and store them under international supervision
get rid of 98% of its enriched uranium
accept that sanctions would be rapidly restored if the deal was violated
permanently give the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access "where necessary when necessary"
Sanctions relief would be gradual, Mr Obama said, with an arms
embargo remaining in place for five years and an embargo on missiles for
eight years.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the
"historic" deal opened a "new chapter" in Iran's relations with the
world. In his own televised address, he said the prayers of Iranians had
"come true".
He said the deal would lead to the removal of all
sanctions, adding: "The sanctions regime was never successful, but at
the same time it affected people's lives.''
After 12 years, world powers had finally "recognised the nuclear activities of Iran", he said.
Separately, the IAEA and Iran said they had signed a roadmap to resolve outstanding issues.
IAEA
head Yukiya Amano told reporters in Vienna, Austria, that his
organisation had signed a roadmap "for the clarification of past and
present outstanding issues regarding Iran's nuclear programme".
He
called the agreement a "significant step forward", saying it would
allow the agency to "make an assessment of issues relating to possible
military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme by the end of 2015".
What do you think about the latest developments? Are you from Iran? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your views
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