- Title: Team behind Iran nuclear deal contender for Nobel Peace Prize
- Date: 1st October 2016
- Summary: VIENNA, AUSTRIA (FILE - JULY 14, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** MINISTERS ARRIVING FOR GROUP PHOTO IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, (LEFT), HEAD OF IRANIAN ATOMIC ENERGY ORGANISATION, ALI AKBAR SALEHI (MIDDLE) AND RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SERGEI LAVROV (RIGHT) / THEN BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY, PHILIP HAMMOND, JOINING STANDING ZARIF LAUGHING / EUROPEAN UNION FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF, FEDERICA MOGHERINI, STANDING NEXT TO HIM LAVROV (LEFT) STANDING WITH HAMMOND (MIDDLE) AND U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, JOHN KERRY (RIGHT) MINISTERS POSING FOR PHOTO ZARIF STANDING WITH MOGHERINI CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI (LEFT), THEN FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER, LAURENT FABIUS (MIDDLE) AND GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER (RIGHT) STANDING MINISTER WALKING OFF MINISTERS SEATED FOR ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION KERRY, HAMMOND, LAVROV, STEINMEIER AND FABIUS (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, SAYING: "I believe this is a historic moment. We are reaching an agreement." KERRY AND HAMMOND SEATED ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION IN PROGRESS VIENNA, AUSTRIA (FILE - JULY 13, 2015) (REUTERS) DELEGATIONS AND FOREIGN MINISTERS FROM THE UNITED STATES, FRANCE, CHINA, RUSSIA, BRITAIN AND GERMANY AND MOGHERINI SEATED FOR MEETING MOGHERINI SEATED STEINMEIER, FABIUS AND WANG SEATED (L-R) KERRY, THEN UNITED STATES UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS, WENDY SHERMAN, AND LAVROV SEATED ALONG TABLE DELEGATIONS AROUND TABLE GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (FILE - JANUARY 14, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ZARIF AND KERRY TALKING WHILE WALKING THROUGH CITY
- Embargoed: 16th October 2016 13:15
- Keywords: Nobel Peace Prize Iran nuclear deal
- Location: VIENNA, AUSTRIA / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / TEHRAN AND BUSHEHR, IRAN
- City: VIENNA, AUSTRIA / GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / TEHRAN AND BUSHEHR, IRAN
- Country: Various
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001526VPDZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
The team of negotiators behind the Iran-world powers nuclear deal, which was agreed on July 14, are set to be contenders for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
The secretive five-member Norwegian committee will announce the winner of the eight million Swedish crown ($955,000) prize on October 7 at 0900 GMT.
Nobel Prizes in years ending with "5" - marking decades since the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - have often gone to campaigns against nuclear weapons. That could mean a prize for Iran's promise to limit its nuclear programme in return for a lifting of sanctions.
Under the deal, sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear programme that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.
Iran will mothball for at least a decade the majority of its centrifuges used to enrich uranium and sharply reduce its low-enriched uranium stockpile.
The agreement is a political triumph for both Obama, who has long promised to reach out to historic enemies, and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist elected two years ago on a vow to reduce the isolation of his nation of 80 million people.
Bookmakers' favourite Pope Francis is another likely contender, as well as Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leftist rebel commander Rodrigo Londono, who pledged on September 23 to end a 52-year war within six months.
Head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, said that a prize might honour people working with refugees from Syria.
Other nominees include former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden.
The prize is named after Swedish philanthropist and industrialist Alfred Nobel. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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