Turkey hails nuclear deal with Iran as "positive step"

Turkey welcomed on Friday a deal reached between Iran and the world powers on Tehran's nuclear program, voicing hope that Iran would take further steps to finalize the agreement by July.

"When we look at the positions of the P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia, U.S., and plus Germany) and Iran right now, Iran is still beyond the line we were able to bring in 2010, but I hope Iran will come to the same line by the end of June," Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in the Lithuanian capital.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to reduce its installed centrifuges to 6,104 from some 19,000, suspend the enrichment of uranium over 3.67 percent for at least 15 years and cut its stockpiled low-enriched uranium from about 10,000 kilograms to 300 kilograms for 15 years.

In addition, Iran will allow regular access to all of its nuclear facilities for inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and agreed to redesign and rebuild a heavy water research reactor in Arak that will not produce weapons-grade plutonium.

In return, the U.S. and the European Union will suspend sanctions on Tehran, along with the lifting of all UN Security Council's past sanction resolutions. Endit