BACKGROUND
Decades of bitter confrontation between Iran and America began to ease on Sunday when the leaders of both countries praised a landmark agreement designed to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The two rivals, who have lacked formal diplomatic ties for 34 years, reached a deal at 3am in Geneva on the fifth day of tumultuous negotiations. John Kerry, the US secretary of state, hailed the outcome as a “dramatic” first step that will halt the progress of Iran’s nuclear programme for six months, while a permanent agreement is sought. Read more >>
THE CARTOON
The cartoon by Adams from the Daily Telegraph shows a smiling President of Iran Hassan Rouhani receiving a bag of money in one hand, while pouring uranium into a nuclear bomb with the other. See an earlier draft which, according to the cartoonist, "had way too much needless information on the US money part of the cartoon".
EXPLANATION
Under the terms of the deal Iran will be allowed access to $4.2 billion of oil export revenues. The U.S. government has also suspended some restrictions on gold and precious metals trade and lifted sanctions on Iran's petrochemical exports that were imposed earlier this year. In return, Iran has agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium and to destroy part of its stockpile of already enriched uranium. However, the deal has been criticized by the Israelis and U.S. Republicans, among others, since the Iranians will be allowed to continue enriching. In fact, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, denounced the agreement as "a historic mistake".
VOCABULARY
The cartoonist plays on two meanings of the word 'enrichment': the act of making rich, and the process by which the proportion of the fissile isotope U-235 in uranium is increased to make it more fissile.
ALSO SEE
• Brian Adcock cartoon (The Independent)
• Peter Brookes cartoon (The Times)
