Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the statement of the President of the US of 7 April 2015 on negotiations with Iran, what assessment he has made of the implication for his policy of Iran's breakout period shrinking to almost zero after the first decade of a possible nuclear deal.

Under the terms of the agreement – in addition to the restrictions on Iran’s enrichment capacity – Iran will be limited to a maximum stockpile of 300kg of uranium enriched to up to 3.67% for 15 years. Iran's breakout period will be over 12 months for 10 years, and is not expected to fall to zero afterwards. The agreement will also lead to significantly increased transparency, in particular through implementation of the Additional Protocol and Modified Code 3.1. This will increase the IAEA’s ability to identify a breakout attempt; and significantly increase the time that the international community has to respond in such a scenario.