This morning, President Barack Obama announced that the United States reached a deal with Iran on its nuclear program after extended talks in Vienna, Austria. Here’s an excerpt from CNN explaining the deal:
The deal reduces the number of Iranian centrifuges by two-thirds. It places bans on enrichment at key facilities, and limits uranium research and development to the Natanz facility.
The deal caps uranium enrichment at 3.67 percent and limits the stockpile to 300 kg, all for 15 years.
Iran will be required to ship spent fuel out of the country forever, as well as allow inspectors from the IAEA inspectors certain access in perpetuity. Heightened inspections, including tracking uranium mining and monitoring the production and storage of centrifuges, will last for up to 20 years.
The U.S. estimates that the new measures take Iran from being able to assemble its first bomb within two to three months, to at least one year from now.
Of course, much (though not all) of the debate around this agreement relates to Israel.
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, tweeted earlier today following the announcement of the deal:
A few days ago we finished, and then this morning, LifeWay Research released new data from a recent survey on how Americans and Christians view Israel.
Here is an excerpt:
“No piece of literature has had more impact on American culture than the Bible,” said Scott McConnell, vice president of LifeWay Research. “No country is more intertwined with the ancient biblical narrative than Israel, and evangelical Americans see a contemporary connection with the nation.”
Researchers found evangelicals see a close tie between God and Israel.
