saying it would take iran a year to gather enough enriched uranium that would be required for a bomb compared to a few months before. i doubt israeli officials will say that they are satisfied or reassured by that. turning now to saudi arabia, they are very concerned about the rise, potentially of iran as arrival power, a shia power. the saudi arabian certainly officially, there are shia population within saudi arabia, but the rulers of saudi arabia are sunni, clearly they feel threatened by the emergence of arrival power in the region. and in particular we have to bear in mind the very tense nature of relations between saudi arabia and iran at the moment, particularly in the light of the 47 people executed

in saudi arabia on the 2nd of january including a notable shia cleric, that exacerbated relations and, of course, subsequently there was rioting, protests outside the saudi arabian em bay is in teheran. so relations between those countries very tense at the moment. and saudi arabia feeling very uncertain and not at all happy about the idea of this new age of [ inaudible ] between iran and the west as a whole. >> jacky, thanks very much. i want to taking now to washington d.c. and speak to our correspondent there, patty culhane. jacky was speaking about internationally there were various countries like israel and saudi arabia who were certainly not fans of this deal. domestically in the u.s. many people have criticize third degree deal with iran. >> reporter: republicans particularly yeah, they have said basically they have two

complaints, one, they said, that the president shouldn't be making any deal with iran over its nuclear program while american -- while americans were being hemmed prisoners iran. we now know that that is no longer the case. we believe that in a prisoner swap five americans, four who were held in prison will be sent back to the united states in exchange seven iranian prisoners in american custody will be sent to iran. the other complaint they have is that this gives iran a windfall. the opponents like to put it $150 billion. most experts a it's anywhere from $52,100,000,000,000. they say that money will now be used to further destabilize the region, they will be able to give more money to groups like hezbollah, which the united states considers a terrorist organization. and they talk about creating mischief in yemen and all around the region. now, the administration's position has been that iran has already been able to fund those groups, that wasn't going to change that much anyway. they say iran has a lot of debts that are going to come due when

this money is freed up and they believe most of it will be spent improving the tr iranian he come by. >> let's go from washington back to the u.n. in new york and speak on our diplomat i go he had pour james bays who has been waiting for this deal, to be fair, james, for about a year now. >> reporter: more than a year felicity, following the talks that took place in switzerland which we followed and also in vienna. and if you look at all of the key developments along the way, the interim deal back in november 2013, the events of last summer, when they actually all signed the deal, none of that really mattered until they got to this moment. because, remember, as patty said there was the potential obstacle of congress in the way, there are all sorts of potential problems whether iran was going to meet all the conditions are the iae, a that has now been verified in the statement we got

in the last few minutes, i think in many ways that makes this the most important milestone on this nuclear deal. which you remember all sides said it was about stopping iran from got getting a nuclear bomb but we have seen the possible big he dimension of this. we saw the u.s. sailors detained by iran and then releases. we have seen the prison swap. and we have seen perhaps the relationship between iran and the u.s. and iran and the rest of the world is slowly changing. now, it may well be what worries saudi arabia yeah, but interesting when you saw the pictures a moment ago with john kerr it's u.s. secretary of state meeting his called i counterpart just a few days ago in london. i am sure their main discussion wasn't about this iran deal. they would have talked about it. the main discussion was looking forward eight days, remember, the face-to-face talks on syria are coming up very, very shortly in geneva. if they go ahead.

they are still looking difficult. i think the u.s. putting pressure on the saudis to get the opposition there and in that iran really has its first big kept. is iran going to play a constructive role to get the syrian government to talk about the transitional face which could lead to president assad leaving office. the big test on the wider regional stage is just over a week away. >> we are looking at live pictures inside the press conference as various media members gather to await the press conference that we have been promised in the next couple of minutes ago containing the three leading protagonists of this deal. what do you think their demeanor will be like and what do you think we'll hear from them? >> reporter: i think we need to look at the wider issues they'll talk about what they achieved and what diplomacy can achieve

but what will it say about the ring situation and the future relationship between iran and the international community. because this is very much a done deal. yes, congress will try and obstruct things, but i think that time has passed. israel doesn't like it. many in the middle east don't like it. but it's now there. this deal exists and the sanctions effectively are being lifted as we speak here at the united nations. the security council sanctions, they did devote months ago ready for this moment so that when they got this final report from the iaea which you have seen in the last half hour, the sanctions automatically were lifted. so what does it mean for the future i think will be the key questions to be asked of these leaders who now have a pretty good relationship on a percentage basis. it makes you think what will happen a year's time when the obama administration is no long never office, when there is no more john kerry to deal with mohamed sharif.

they have real warmth together and warmth toward frederica. remember her med vice soar catherine ashton was involved in the organizations. this was technically, although it was p5 plus one, the e.u. played the coordinator role between the -- those p5 plus one countries and iran. and i think that's why it's a minor point but when you look at the podiums on the stage you'll see there are two next each and one to the side. i think that will be frederica moggherini representing the e.u., representing the whole of the international community and mr. sharee representing iran and of course john kerry also there being the most important player in the international community the so-called p5 plus one. >> we are awaiting the arrival of those three leaders in the preconference in vienna. we have had some reaction from

the implementation days. that came from the director generally of the international atomic agency energy. >> relations between iran and the iaea being now enter a new face. it is an important -- phase, it is an important day for the international community. i congratulate all those who helped make it a reality, especially the group of countries known as the e3, e.u. plus three, iran and the iaea board. >> james, as we await the arrival of these three leaders, i want to point to something that jacky wassing was saying y about how various members of the international community are incredibly suspicious about iran's intention with its nuclear program. saudi arabia and israel to name but two. talk us through the safeguards, if you like in, this deal should teheran go ahead and do something thought national community is not happy about

with its nuclear program. >> reporter: well, the big safeguard is something called nap back. -- snap back. which means that if the international community believe there is a breach, yes, the iaea will be asked to say whether their scientists believe there has been any sort of breach. but in the end, all of the sanctions can snap back in to place. that was what was decided by the u.n. security council, what was decided will happen with both the e.u. and the u.s. sanctions. also worth telling you, for his at this, when they announced the deal, the iaea also announced a new bit of technology they put in place. we knew they had all sorts of high-tech things that they were going to put in place, but this is a new one on me anyway, a 24/7 device called the online enrichment monitor or the elem and that will be operated around the clock.

to try to detect any uranium en itch. beyond the level that is allowed of 3.67%. this bit of technology has been installed there and they'll get readings from it around the clock to make sure that certainly that part, the main part, the iranian en -- uranium enrichment part. all those centrifuges are being used for civilian use as is specified in this deal. >> a lot of the wrangler over the years about iran's nuclear program has been about access for weapons inspectors in to the country. what sort of access will they have under this deal? >> reporter: well, they have the access, the owe called addition protocol of the iaea which allows them the access and there has been no real problem over the access during this verification period. they have been able to go where they want and do what they want to do i think one of the sticking points -- >> i am sorry, james to interrupt, but two of the three

leaders as i can see on may screen have now arrived for that press conference in vienna, they are frederica mogherini and the iranian foreign minister, let's see if this press conference is about to get underway. >> today we have a reached implementation day of the joint compliance plan of action. ever since adoption day we worked hard and showed mutual commitment and collective will to finally bring the j.c. poa to implementation.

today, actual almost agency six months later, the international atomic agency has verified that iran has implemented its nuclear commitment of the j.c. po actual. as iran has full fulfilled its commitments. the economic sanctions related to iran's nuclear program are lifted in accordance with the gcp on. >> reporter: a. the e.u. and the countries. people's rub i can of china, france, germany, the russian federation, the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland and the united states of america. and iran. and iran will cooperate in the fields of peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the framework of the gcpoa. iran sanctions related to iran's

nuclear program are lifted. will from now onwards together with the treaty of the nonpro left raise of nuclear weapons be the sole international framework related to iran's nuclear activities. terminating provisions 1696 of 2006. 1737 of 2007. 1747 of 2007. 1803 of 2008. 1835 of 2008. 1929 of 2010 and 2224 of 2015. the european union has confirmed that the legal framework providing for the lifting of its nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions is effective. the united states today is

seizing the am action of its nuclear related sanctions on iran. including terminating relevant executive orders and licensing of certain activities, as piece identified in the gcpoa. european union and the united states have issued relevant guidelines on the details of sanctions which have been lifted thus facilitating international engagement in iran's economic development. we will continue to thoroughly monitor and oversee the full and effective implementation of the gcpoa exactly as agreed on 14th of july, 2015. through the joint commission consisting of the e3 plus three and iran and coordinated by the high representative of the unit upon for foreign affairs and security policy. on its side the iaea is entrusted with the responsibility for the monitoring and verification of

the gcp on. a as well as of ryan -- [ audio difficulties ] >> of the gcpoa of as well as iran's negotiation of the party to the nonproliferation treaty and the additional protocol. we would like to use this opportunity to thank the austrian government for their hospitality, and all those countries that supported the negotiation process and helped to implement some of the commitments under the gcpoa. we also wish to express our appreciation to all of those who let this negotiations on behalf of the islamic republic of iran and the e3, e.u. plus three, since 2003. all sides remain firmly convinced that this historic deal is both strong and fair. and that it meets the requirements of all. its proper implementation will

be a key contribution to improved regional and international peace, stability and security. this achievement clearly demonstrates that with political will, percent convenience and multi lateral diplomacy we can solve the most difficult issues and find practical solutions that are effectively implemented. this is an encouraging and strong message that international community must keep in mind in our efforts to make the world a safer place. i thank you. [ applause ] >> i am going do what i always do, read in parisian exactly what she said in english. so don't worry about requiring translation, but before i -- >> your english is better than mine. >> but before i begin, let me

thank you all for having waited several hours for both of us to come and appear before you and apologize having kept you waiting since probably some hours ago. now i will just read it in parisian. >> translator: today it's the implementation of the gcpoa. since the finalization of gcpoa we have been strongly doing our best to insure -- to show our commitment to prepare the ground for the implementation of the gc p.pgcpoa over the past six monts since the finalization of the iae akon firmed that iran has fulfilled its commitments.

>> i want to confirm that he is keeping to his word and is literally doing a parisian translation of what frederica mogherini told us in the last four or five minutes she said with political will multi lateral diplomacy this proves that you can solve the most difficult issues of diplomatic -- our diplomatic editor james bays joins us live from the u.n. in new york, he was listening to the president conference by frederica mogherini. very technical detail being given out by mig mowing reason toy begin with. not too much victoriousness are triumphant agreement. >> reporter: no, this is an agreed statement. frederica mowing rinne from the e.u. representing the nations negotiating with the iran, the so culled p5 plus one, the e.u. prefer i call them the e3 plus three. but they are the five permanent members of the u.n. security council, the u.s., russia,

china, u.k. and france plus germany. and on the other side iran, yes, it's not a -- a statement that has much sort of congratulations in it and that's because it's an agreed diplomatic statement that both sides agreed and as you are hearing right now, in the parisian language, the iranian foreign minute i minister is ret the exact same words the key message this after the agreement since last summer the agreement has been checked and iran did exactly what it was supposed to do by this stage to make its nuclear facilities, not available for use with weapons, but only for civilian use. that's now been verified and simultaneously, and this was a very tough negotiation back in vienna, when they were working out how this would happen, simultaneously on one day, that day happens to have come in to force in the last half hour, then you get iran now being

monitored by the international community, now that they are happy that it's done what it's done what it's supposed to and simultaneously the sanctions being lifted and you heard freed rearing a mogherini talking about the previous u.n. counsel negotiations put in lace near new york, there were several of them. they don't exist anymore they have been torn up and now the only thing is this deal that was agreed in vienna which was enshrine ed in a u.n. security council resolution last summer after the deal that took place in vienna. a resolution ready for this day so that when they got this report from the iaea, it would automatically come in to force and also automatically coming in to force the e.u. sanctions and the u.s. sanctions now on this day being lifted. but remember also in the deal is the so-called snap back if there is a violation they can come back in to force. >> james, for the moment thanks

very much indeed. let's go from the u.n. to washingtowashington, d.c. and or correspondent pal patty culhane. earlier we were told that they would see the main three progress tag 30s of the deal. frederico mogherini, j.a. vad zarif. interestingly john kerry is not there but he has commented and said the sanctions have been lifted. >> reporter: he did put out a statement. the whys house sent us a letter lifting some o sanctions the ler goes to members of the u.s. congress, important to point out what the u.s. is giving up here. basically what the president has been able do is lifted sanctions that basically prevent other countries from doing business with iran. that would have frozen them out of u.s. banks, for example. so this $100 billion that people keep talking about, that's iran's money that's been stuck in overseas banks all across the globe, now because the president has take then executive action,

executive order that money can be sent back to iran. if you look at the sanctions relief that's directly happening between the u.s. and iran, it's actually pretty limited. obviously the financial being able to deal with iran family that's big one, but if you look at how the u.s. and iran line laterally that they can trade, it's limited in the sense that iran is allowed to import in to the united states three things, calf area, piss tash crow pistad parisian rugs the u.s. will is ask for a license to sale cravings. when people say iran is opening for business, it's the case for every country in the world seconds the united states. it was done through the u.n., because obviously we are in the midst of a presidential election, what we have heard from all of the republican candidate is if they get in to office they will rip up -- >> i apologize, i think u.s. secretary of state john kersey about to walk past the cameras.

>> reporter: secretary of state what is your reaction, please? >> we hope [ inaudible ] >> brief shot of job kerry. jacky, i didn't actually hear what he say. what did he actually say when he asked what his reaction was? >> reporter: to be honest i didn't hear him either. we'll be able to tell you later once we fly back and hear it later. we are the only ones here everyone is in the news conference the second of state now going to join frederica mogherini and the e.u. policy chief and also mohamed javad zarif the iranian foreign minister. now all of them making statements, giving their reaction, they are suggesting up of this agreement. we were just hearing from frederica me reason i there whoo

said sanctions are now lifted against a ran and described it as a strong and fair agreement which she believed would make the world a safer place. >> all right, jacky rowland live there chasing after the u.s. secretary of state john kerry. thanks for the moment, jacky. so, as we have heard sanctions against iran will now be lifted bit by bit. with firms worldwide already sending their people in the count are you to see what opportunities there are. in the last few hours, iranian media has reported the arrival in teheran of executives from two oil joints, u.s. companies may find it harder with sanctions to them not easing quite as much as for the others. gerald tan reports now on what the financial future may hold. >> reporter: years of international sanctions on iran have choked the economy. an international ban on doing business with a rain vinnie witd

the freezing of assets have contributed to sluggish, even negative growth. that strangle hold is finally being loosened. >> the lifting of the sanctions will first of all have a very positive psychological impact, it will compel a lot of the investors in the iranian economy, foreign and domestic investors who had either been barred or basically were in a waiting mode to start their investing activities. >> reporter: the iranian government agreed to limit nuclear two. in exchange for the return to energy and financial markets. it will now also be able to access billions of dollars worth of frozen assets stuck in foreign banks. there are questions over how a run vinnie government leaders will channel this windfall. iran's president has said that he wants to attract foreign investment, expand the oil and natural gas sectors and promote a more diversified economy. the deal could not be better

timed with parliamentary elections scheduled next month. >> translator: i tell the great iranian nation that god willing the sanctions will be lifted in january and the government will fulfill one of its election promises. the chains of sanctions will be removed from the feet of iran's economy and the path will be more open for more interaction with the world. >> reporter: iran is hungry for change. economic isolation has caused weak currency, high inflation and a lack of jobs. 80 million potential customers, but progress isn't expected to be quit. >> interest to invest is iran is there. but the pace at which it will take play, negotiations, suppose that are needed to absorb these investments will be slower than many pictures at this stage. >> reporter: the implementation

of the deal is lauded by many as positive step for iran reintegrating in to the global economy but no reset button for relations with the west. iranian military forces recently carried out two ballistic missile tests prompting talk in washington after new round of sanctions. gerald tan, al jazeera. >> now that teheran has fulfilled things. james bays now explains the significance of implementation day. >> reporter: today, implementation day is the most important milestone in a long, complicated process. let's first look at how we got here and let's go back to the very beginning. iran built its first reactor in the 1960s. after u.s. shared technology with the country then governed by a monarch the shaw of iran.

in 2002 oppositions groups said iraq was secretly trying to build a nuclear weapon. after years of fruitless negotiation new diplomatic effort led by john kerry and mohamed jaffnmohammed safe ahea. it's that agreement that finally comes in to forced to. the international juke lahr agency the iaea has confirmed that iran has started implementing the mesh spurs has accepted the safeguards that will make sure its nuclear program can only be used for civilian use. the u.n. security council has already passed resolutions ready for this day, that means international e.u. and u.s. sanctions will be lifted right now. if there is any evidence of violations, the sanctions, and this is the key phrase, snap back in to place. >> january back is the process where all the sanctions that have been put on hold as result

of the deal come back immediately. in the terms of the deal there is a dispute process that could last as long as around 60 days but once that process has been completed. any country that is part of the p5 plus one or germany, could decide to reimpose the sanks on its own and that would mean iran would be back to the situation they were after before implementation day. >> reporter: no doubt this is a key date in the debate over iran's nuclear program. it's a ar still a highly controversial issue. and no doubt not the end of story. >> let's take i live to at that rap and we can speak to a professor of middle east studies at the university of teheran, thanks so much for being with us on the program. just put in to context for us how big this deal is for iran economically. >> good evening. i think this deal matters the

most for the iranian government for rouhani's administration, actually. this is a development that the government actually got elected for its developmental agenda and the iranian public voted for it for its agenda on the economic, you know, realm. so lifting the sanctions from iranian economy is a great step actually that the rouhani government has fulfilled to its voters. and i think this will affect its popularity, this will bring a lot to its pride, to its fulfilling or committing to its commitments to its voters. and i think it's a very good day for mr. rouhani himself and

mr. zarif. on the popular level i think on the people, the iranian people, they are waiting, they are eager to see what this lifting of the sanctions and how rapidly this lifting of the sanctions will bring change to the economic situation of the country. >> for businesses in iran presumably they have already been inundated with foreign investors and foreign traders wanting do business with iran, who for so many years haven't been able to conduct any business with iran. >> well, i mean, the fd illi. the foreign investments has stopped from coming to iran since thousand seven. now with the lifting of the sanctions related to the nuclear program, i think this legal issues have been lifted, and i

think the investors have shown their eagerness to come to a iranian market and invest here. yet iranians are, you know, there have been a lot of the allegations coming to iran in recent months tasting the waters in here. -- delegations coming to iran. they will come to iran as soon as they see that the parties agreed and, you know, signed the nuclear deal and its implementation as soon as they see the willingness to get more involved and engaged politically rather than in a economic or sanction -- put imposing sanctions on iran, i think as soon as they see this willingness to engage on a disk way, in a different way with iran, i think they will come to iran. they have shown their eagerness to do so.

>> it's fair to say, though, isn't it, not everyone in iran approved of this deal? there were some people that felt that iran had compromised and given too much away to the rest of the international community. i think. >> i think -- well, there have been differences in iran about the nuclear deal. but i think the ruling elite, so to speak, have been on on a consensus to go for this deal and there is the unprecedented, you know, consensus ongoing for this deal and its immaterial policimplementationimplementati, without its consensus i don't know anybody could have signed this deal. i think this consensus is still there. and i think these ruling elite are willing to go to commit to

their end of the deal. of course there are differences, there are those who are criticizing the government for compromise for its saying it has compromised to, you know, they have given iran's right on the nuclear issue, but i think they remain at the margins now. but they might, you know, form a pressure group or something on the government. but i think the relief from the sanctions and the lifting of the sanctions will enhance the government's popularity and it will increase the consensus now from now on. >> great to get your thoughts on this breaking story. important story, hassan joining us there from teheran, thanks for your time. well, in another sign of thawing relations the washington post reporter jason is one of

five u.s. citizens to be freed from iranian prison. their release comes as the u.s. agreed to free seven iranians being held in american prisons. rosalind jordan reports. >> reporter: on saturday, iranian state television announced the news jason's family want to hear. after 18 months in prison, the washington post reporter convicted of spying was now free. his employer is celebrating. we couldn't be happier to hear the news that jason has been released from evan prison, once we receive more details and can confirm jason has safely left iran we will have more to schafer. he was the former u.s. marine and a christian minister as well as two other dual nationals will lease ed in a deal that also freeze seven iranians convicted of breaking u.s. laws. the u.s. has also agreed to drop charges against 14 other iranians for sanctions violations. while a ran promises to help

find the retired fbi agent robert levinson. what's curious about the prisoner swap is the timing. it comes as the iae akon firms iran has dismantled it's nuclear weapons program which means the u.s., the e.u., and the u.n. are lifting sanctions against teheran. analysts have suggested the personal relationship between secretary state john kerry and iranian foreign minister mohamed jahvid zarif has made it possible to solve disputes, but what happens when both men leaves their post. >> that relationship is one that predated the nuclear talks. it's one that helped this go forward. we can't have a situation where we go back to the way it used to be simply because kerry is no longer at the statement department. >> reporter: no guarantee of more to follow. rosalind jordan, al jazeera,

washington. >> let's take bach to washington live now for spook to our correspondent there, patty culhane. will the release of jason and the four other americans from iranian prison, will their release appease in any way those americans who roundly criticize this nuclear deal with iran? >> reporter: nope. not at all. we have already heard from the republican presidential candidates the opposition party to the candidates and they are criticizing it on several levels, they are saying this simply gives iran too much money and they will use it support groups that the u.s. considers terrorist organizations like hez bowl actual when it comes to the prison -- interrupting patty to go to the u.s. secretary of state. >> i would like to do -- i can't stay to take questions which i had like do but we are operating on very tight constraints on the rest period the law allows for our pilots. because of some of the delays so as a result i need to get to the airport and get on the plane. but i will make a statement

before doing so. and i hope it will cover much of what you are concerned about. this evening we are really reminded once again of diploma diplomacies' power to tackle significant challenges. and thanks for years of hard work and committed dialogue we have made vital breakthroughs relatedded to both the nuclear negotiation and a separate long-term diplomatic effort. i am very happy to say that as we speak we have received confirmation that five americans who had been unjusterly detain ed in iran have been released from custody. and they should object their way home for their families before long, shortly. the president will have more to say about their release later. but i can tell you one thing,

while the two tracks of negotiations were not directly related and they were not, there is no question that the pace examine th and the progress of e humanitarian talks excel rated in light of the relationships formed and the diplomatic channels unlocked over the course of the nuclear talks and certainly in the time since we reached an agreement last july there was a significant pick up in that dialogue. we have also reached a critical and auspicious milestone on the nuclear issue as well. today more than four years after i first traveled to oman at the request of president obama to discreetly explore whether the kind of nuclear talks that we ultimately entered in to with iran were even possible after more than 2 1/2 years of intense

multi lateral negotiations, the international atomic agency has now verified that iran has honored its commitments to alter and in fact dismantle much of its nuclear program in compliance with the agreement that we reached last july. i want to thank the iaea and the director for their significant efforts in that regard. and i know that he will go tomorrow to teheran to begin the process of the full implementation. to get to this point, ladies and gentlemen, iran has undertaken significant steps that many, and i do mean many, people doubted would ever come to pass. and that should be recognized, even though the full measure of this achievement can only be realized by assuring continued full compliance in the coming

years. in return for the steps that iran has taken, the united states and the e.u. will immediately lift nuclear-related sanctions, expanding the horizon of opportunity for the iranian people and i have even tonight before coming over here signed a number of documents over those sanctions that the state department has jurisdiction over in order to effect that lifting. in the words of the agreement itself, today, january 16th, 2016, we have reached implementation day. today marks the moment that the iran nuclear agreement transitiontransitions from an as set of promises on paper to measurable action in progress. today as a result actions taken since last july, the united states, our friends and allies

in the middle east, in the entire world, are safer because the threat of a nuclear weapon has been reduced. today we can confidently say at that each of the pathways that iran had toward enough material for nuclear weapon has been verifiably closed down. that begins with the uranium path. before the negotiations began iran was adding rapidly and without constraint to its stockpile of enriched uranium. as it committed to do back in july, eye iran has now reduced that stockpile to less than 300-kilograms sending the rest of it out on a ship, which has gone to russia to be processed there. that means that their current level of enriched uranium is 2% of what it was before we completed the agreement. and the rest is shipped out of

the country. iran has also removed a two 2/3 of its centrifuges from fuchs lahr facilities. along with the infrastructure that supported tell. they have taken it out, dismantled, stored. stored. including all of its advanced centrifuges the hardware is sealed up under around the clock monitoring by the iaea. iran has all it's disconnected all related centrifuges and removed all material from the site. the second path open to iran was the plutonium path. before we sat down at the negotiating table, iran's heavy water reactor had the potential, when and if it became operation toll produce enough weapons grade plutonium annually to fuel

two nuclear weapons. iran has now begun the process of modifying the entire iraq recipients actor. so that it will only be used for peaceful purposes. it has removed the reactor's core and filled it with cement insure that can never be used again. finally the third path. the most troubling path in many respects, was the potential for iran to pursue enough material for a weapon covertly using a facility not publically declared. now, before the talks started the iaea did not have assured access to investigate locations of which undeclared nuclear activities might be carried out. it also lacked the ability to track uranium as it was mined. milled, and then turned in to yellow cake. today the iaea has put in place

every one of the extensive transparency and verification measures called for in the agreement. that means in addition to the 24/7 monitoring of all of iran's declare nuclear facilities, the iaea now has visibility and accountability of the entire supply chain that supports iran's nuclear program from start to finish. from uranium mines and mills to centrifuge manufacturing and operation. so today iran would need far more than one covert facility in order to try to breakout. it would need to develop an entire covert supply chain from start to finish which experts around the world agree is not possible without early detection. as i said, the steps that iran

has taken to fully implement the nuclear agreement have fundamentally altered the country's nuclear program. two years ago we assessed that iran's breakout time, the am of time it took to go from producing fizzle enriched uranium to have enough for one bomb, that amount of time has gone from two to three months, where it was, now today we are confident that based on the reductions in its stockpile, reductions in its centrifuges, it would take iran at least a year to try to breakout of the agreement, kick out the inspectors, accumulate the amount of material need today a single bomb. and if iran ever did decide do that. because of the steps that are in this agreement, we would know it

almost immediately and would have enough time to respond a prop appropriately. let me under score, verification is the backbone of this agreement. welcome that iran has followed through on the promises that it made it, has kept eights word and we will continue to do the same. but we will also remain vigilant in fair identification iran's compliance. every hour of every day in the years address. now, i emphasize today's announcement more confidence in the possibilities about this effort going forward. thus far iran has taken every step that it committed to take. dating back two full years, not just back to july. but dating back to the interim agreement that we announced in

geneva in switzerland. we have now two years of compliance under our belt with another 13 and another 15 and then another 20. and then another 25, and then the lifetime of this agreement and the modified code 3.1. now obviously, past performance does not guarantee future results. we know that. furthermore while welcome inning police mentation day, we understand that this marker alone does not wipe away result of the concerns that the international community has rightly expressed about iran's policies and actions and choices in the region. but we also know without doubt there is not a challenge in the entire ring that one wouldn't become much more complicated much worse if iran had a nuclear

weapon. and that is why this agreement is so important. with the agreement fully implemented, the international community can finally work to address the other regional challenges without the looming threat of a nuclear-armed iran. including the crisis in syria, on which we have made important progress in recent months. before i close, i want to thank a few important people who brought us here to this day, who have been critical to this process throughout the negotiations. and that starts with the person i work fork president obama. who has been resolute in insist that go iran must never have a nuclear weapon and equally strong and courageous in assert that go diplomacy should be given a fair chance to achieve that goal. his courage to pursue a path that many people deemed impossible and some people deemed inning advisable is the reason we are where we are

marking implementation day, not alone, not bilaterally, but with france, germany, britain, china, russia, all of us joined together in an effort to create this accountability. i also want to thank the delegations representing all of our p5 partners. all of them have worked unbelievably hard and set a standard for international cooperation. and i particularly want to thank came kathy ashton for helping to lead this process for 2 1/2 years and her successor, frederica mogherini for expertly coordinating international efforts during the final stage and helping in these last two days to bring us to this announcement. i also want to express my gratitude for the superb efforts of my own delegation, led by

steve null and previously by went i sherman, all of whom from the state deem, from the white house, and throughout the i want interagency system that we work with in the united states, all of them, the justice department, the energy department, everyone ernie andothers have done an extraordinarily job and richly deserve the gratitude of our nation. and i believe other nations who benefit from this. let me also thank the government of austria, switzerland, and oman for their continued and enormously generous hospitality at times for their assistance all the time, and for the international work that they have helped to make possible here. and i am particularly grateful to the government of switzerland, d.j., but halter and all of those who have worked in the last days as our representative in teheran in helps us in the mission regarding the release of the

americans which you will hear more about from president obama later. finally, i want to again express my deep respect for the serious and constructive approach that iran's delegation brought to this effort. foreign minister javad zarif and his team from day one demonstrated their deep commitment and seriousness of purpose. and dr. ali sa saleh has worked diligently to find reeight i have solution to his difficult technical challenge. and we have been able to approach every step. process with professionalism and mutual respect of the hard work will continue, no question. and the tough politics surrounding this issue in many countries, including the united states and iran, that is obviously not going to get easier overnight. today marks the first day of a safer world one where we believe it is possible to remain saver

for years to come -- safer for years to come and particularly with the compliance of this agreement. i think we have also proven once again why did diplomacy has toe our first choice and war our last resort. and that is a very important lesson to reinforce. we have approached this challenge with the firm belief that exhausting diplomacy before choosing war is an imperative. and we believe that today marks the benefits of that choice. thank you. [ applause ] >> so a very long statement by the u.s. secretary of state, john kerry. he gave plenty of good sound bites for the waiting media among them today marks the first day of a safer world. the entire world is safer the threat of a nuclear weapon has been reduced. listening in to that was patty culhane in washington d.c. it was interesting, patty that, he didn't appear at the earlier

press conference with the other two leaders of this deal. but he had plenty to say. interestingly, talked about the fact that it was over four years ago that he was first asked by the president to undertake this mission. >> reporter: this has been painstaking many times it was secret, remember the shock we all had when we realized and the u.s. and iran and others were going to sit around the table and talk about the nock lahr deal. all the way along, everyone single doubt was basically republicans came out and said it's not going to working you can't trust iran, then they got the deal. we heard the critics say okay, but they are not going to do it. it's not going to happen. so now we are here at implementation day and it appears that all the requirements have been met. the iaea says so. the sanctions have been lifted now the deal is done i thought what was interesting was what secretary kerry said there he said the relationships will not get easier overnight. that i think is going to send chills down the spine of leaders in the gulf and also in israel

because that is their big concern. now we have the nuclear deal settled and the prisoner swaps could this mean that iran will be in a better relationship with the united states. hhe said what could be happening here. the white house has been hinting but we are not sure if it will be now or on sunday, the question is whether or not those americans in iran have been released from prison but are they out of iranian airspace until the president addresses the public. republicans running for president say if they are elect for the this office the first thing they will do when they step in is rip up the iran deal. in reality now that we are here, now the u.n. sanctions have been lifted it seems pretty hard, pretty unclear that a u.s. president could actually change

anything if they tried to go to the united nations russia or china would just veto it. the deal is done and looks like for now it's here to stay. >> patty at the white house, thanks very much indeed let's fro go from the white house to the u.n. and sparks to james bays who has worked probably not as long as the u.s. secretary of state has work on the deal, four years he said, james, but just put it in to context for us as we end this program. how big, how momentous this deal is despite maybe john kerry's attempts to down play it a little. >> reporter: it is the key moment, i think, this is the moment the iran deal becomes active, this is something that many in the region didn't like the sound of. still don't like the look of. but it is now in place. and i think unless there is a serious breach by iran, it will stay in place. interesting felicity, that we have had some reaction by hassan rouhani the president of iran.

it's the early hours in the morning and originally if this deal had been announced a little earlier in the day, i think he was going to give a television address which will now probably take place on sunday, let me read his tweet. i thank god for this blessing and bow to the greatness of the patient nation of iran, congratulations on this glorious victory rim also some news from the united nations here in new york. the u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon who like the security council has received the actual report, this is it, saying it is a great milestone that reflects the good faith efforts by all parties to fulfill their agreed commitment. so positive messages coming from certain parts of the international community. we know there are some in the region who don't like this deal. >> james bays live for us at the u.n. in new york. thanks very much indeed. and thank you for watching this news hour from me and the news our team. i will be back with more on the iran deal in a couple of minutes, do stick with us. bye bye.

beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive re giving you a deeper dive

implementation day. sanctions against iran are lifted as it meets all its obligations from last year's nuclear deal. it comes on the day the washington journalist is one of five detainees are freed by iran. this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up, taiwan elects its first female president. the leader of the party which was independent from china. at least 29 people are killed and aroun