How Not to Build a Bomb: What You Need to Know About the Iran Nuclear Deal

See what's at stake in the negotiation process.

Background - Secretary of State John Kerry and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have since late 2013 been in negotiations with Iran on a plan to roll back the Middle Eastern nation's nuclear program. Iran says its intentions are purely peaceful and the purpose of its program is to create nuclear energy for products like electricity. But other nations, Israel in particular, fear it has plans to build a nuclear weapon. In the meantime, there has been in place a ban prohibiting the U.S. and European Union nations from importing Iranian oil and other sanctions that have economically crippled the nation. Here's what's at stake. —Joyce Jones (@BETpolitichick) (Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

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Background - Secretary of State John Kerry and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have since late 2013 been in negotiations with Iran on a plan to roll back the Middle Eastern nation's nuclear program. Iran says its intentions are purely peaceful and the purpose of its program is to create nuclear energy for products like electricity. But other nations, Israel in particular, fear it has plans to build a nuclear weapon. In the meantime, there has been in place a ban prohibiting the U.S. and European Union nations from importing Iranian oil and other sanctions that have economically crippled the nation. Here's what's at stake. —Joyce Jones (@BETpolitichick) (Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

Result? - On April 2, after many espresso-fueled all-nighters, Kerry  and Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif announced that a blueprint had been formed and a deadline set for the end of June to finalize the deal. The plan calls for Iran to limit its nuclear capabilities for 10 years.  (Photo: EPA/LAURENT GILLIERON /LANDOV)

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Result? - On April 2, after many espresso-fueled all-nighters, Kerry  and Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif announced that a blueprint had been formed and a deadline set for the end of June to finalize the deal. The plan calls for Iran to limit its nuclear capabilities for 10 years.  (Photo: EPA/LAURENT GILLIERON /LANDOV)

The Obama Doctrine - Although nothing is finalized, President Obama defended the plan as "the best option for us to protect ourselves" in a New York Times interview. To leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu and several Republican congressional lawmakers who believe Iran cannot be trusted to hold up its end of any bargain, he said, "Iran’s defense budget is $30 billion. Our defense budget is closer to $600 billion. Iran understands that they cannot fight us. ... You asked about an Obama doctrine. The doctrine is: We will engage, but we preserve all our capabilities.” (Photo: New York Times)

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The Obama Doctrine - Although nothing is finalized, President Obama defended the plan as "the best option for us to protect ourselves" in a New York Times interview. To leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu and several Republican congressional lawmakers who believe Iran cannot be trusted to hold up its end of any bargain, he said, "Iran’s defense budget is $30 billion. Our defense budget is closer to $600 billion. Iran understands that they cannot fight us. ... You asked about an Obama doctrine. The doctrine is: We will engage, but we preserve all our capabilities.” (Photo: New York Times)

How Is Nuclear Energy Used? - Nuclear energy can be used to supply electricity and heat, but also in medicine, such as radiotherapy, which is used to treat cancer.(Photo: Robert Pratta/Landov/Reuters)

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How Is Nuclear Energy Used? - Nuclear energy can be used to supply electricity and heat, but also in medicine, such as radiotherapy, which is used to treat cancer.(Photo: Robert Pratta/Landov/Reuters)

Just How Dangerous Are Nuclear Weapons? - According to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, nuclear weapons are "the most dangerous on earth." Just one can destroy an entire city and jeopardize the natural environment and lives of future generations, UNODA reports.  (Photo: Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum/Landov)

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Just How Dangerous Are Nuclear Weapons? - According to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, nuclear weapons are "the most dangerous on earth." Just one can destroy an entire city and jeopardize the natural environment and lives of future generations, UNODA reports.  (Photo: Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum/Landov)

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If They Can, Why Can't Iran? - The nation's relationship with terror groups is one reason and there is the fear that Hezbollah or Hamas, for example, would have access to a weapon. Netanyahu is confident that if Iran is allowed to build a nuclear weapon it would be used to "eliminate" Israel, as some Iran leaders have suggested. He began lobbying against the bill in the U.S. Congress and in Israel long before details of the blueprint were even disclosed. “I truly believe that we are also talking about the security of the world,” Netanyahu now says. “The most dangerous terrorist state in the world shouldn’t receive the world’s most dangerous weapons." (Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO/AP Photo)

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If They Can, Why Can't Iran? - The nation's relationship with terror groups is one reason and there is the fear that Hezbollah or Hamas, for example, would have access to a weapon. Netanyahu is confident that if Iran is allowed to build a nuclear weapon it would be used to "eliminate" Israel, as some Iran leaders have suggested. He began lobbying against the bill in the U.S. Congress and in Israel long before details of the blueprint were even disclosed. “I truly believe that we are also talking about the security of the world,” Netanyahu now says. “The most dangerous terrorist state in the world shouldn’t receive the world’s most dangerous weapons." (Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO/AP Photo)

Centrifuges - Iran currently has about 19,000 centrifuges, the tube-shaped machines used to enrich uranium. Under the blueprint, it would for a period of 10 years have to reduce that number to 6,104 with just 5,060 allowed to enrich uranium, which is about half of the 10,000 centrifuges now spinning. In addition, for 15 years, Iran would be allowed to enrich uranium only to 3.67, which is not enough to build a weapon.  (Photo: EPA/Iran's Presidency Office/Landov)

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Centrifuges - Iran currently has about 19,000 centrifuges, the tube-shaped machines used to enrich uranium. Under the blueprint, it would for a period of 10 years have to reduce that number to 6,104 with just 5,060 allowed to enrich uranium, which is about half of the 10,000 centrifuges now spinning. In addition, for 15 years, Iran would be allowed to enrich uranium only to 3.67, which is not enough to build a weapon.  (Photo: EPA/Iran's Presidency Office/Landov)

Natanz, Fordow and Arak Nuclear Sites - As part of the agreement, enrichment facilities will be permitted only at Iran's Natanz nuclear site. The underground Fordow site would be converted to a nuclear physics and technology center and its remaining centrifuges cannot enrich uranium for 15 years. Arak, a heavy-water reactor, will be redesigned for nuclear research and radioscope production, so it cannot produce weapons-grade plutonium and its stockpile will be exported. (Photo: Mohammad Kheirkhah/UPI Photo/Landov)

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Natanz, Fordow and Arak Nuclear Sites - As part of the agreement, enrichment facilities will be permitted only at Iran's Natanz nuclear site. The underground Fordow site would be converted to a nuclear physics and technology center and its remaining centrifuges cannot enrich uranium for 15 years. Arak, a heavy-water reactor, will be redesigned for nuclear research and radioscope production, so it cannot produce weapons-grade plutonium and its stockpile will be exported. (Photo: Mohammad Kheirkhah/UPI Photo/Landov)

Inspections - Under the agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency must have access to all of Iran's nuclear sites and oversight of the nation's supply chain. In addition, the centrifuges removed from the sites will be under IAEA control. It also will be able to investigate any allegations of secret sites for nuclear, centrifuge or yellowcake production.  (Photo: Kazem Ghane/AFP/Getty Images)

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Inspections - Under the agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency must have access to all of Iran's nuclear sites and oversight of the nation's supply chain. In addition, the centrifuges removed from the sites will be under IAEA control. It also will be able to investigate any allegations of secret sites for nuclear, centrifuge or yellowcake production.  (Photo: Kazem Ghane/AFP/Getty Images)

The Ayatollah Says... - Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is insisting that all sanctions be lifted as soon as an agreement is reached. "I'm really worried as the other side is into lying and breaking promises," he said. "An example was the White House fact sheet. This came out a few hours after the negotiations, and most of it was against the agreement and was wrong. They are always trying to deceive and break promises." Photo: Leader.ir - Pool/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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The Ayatollah Says... - Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is insisting that all sanctions be lifted as soon as an agreement is reached. "I'm really worried as the other side is into lying and breaking promises," he said. "An example was the White House fact sheet. This came out a few hours after the negotiations, and most of it was against the agreement and was wrong. They are always trying to deceive and break promises." Photo: Leader.ir - Pool/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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Crossing the Line? - The White House and congressional lawmakers are at odds over whether the U.S. should engage in negotiations with Iran, but did Sen. John McCain go too far when he said this?“It’s probably in black and white that the Ayatollah [Khamenei] is probably right. John Kerry is delusional. And he came back, and in my view, I think you’re going to find out that they had never agreed to the things that John Kerry claimed that they had,” McCain told conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt on April 10. “So in a way I can’t blame the Ayatollah, because I don’t think they ever agreed to it, and I think John Kerry tried to come back and sell a bill of goods, hoping maybe that the Iranians wouldn’t say much about it.”(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Crossing the Line? - The White House and congressional lawmakers are at odds over whether the U.S. should engage in negotiations with Iran, but did Sen. John McCain go too far when he said this?“It’s probably in black and white that the Ayatollah [Khamenei] is probably right. John Kerry is delusional. And he came back, and in my view, I think you’re going to find out that they had never agreed to the things that John Kerry claimed that they had,” McCain told conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt on April 10. “So in a way I can’t blame the Ayatollah, because I don’t think they ever agreed to it, and I think John Kerry tried to come back and sell a bill of goods, hoping maybe that the Iranians wouldn’t say much about it.”(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Shooting Back - “When I hear some, like Sen. McCain recently, suggest that our secretary of state, John Kerry, who served in the United States Senate, a Vietnam veteran, provided exemplary service to this nation, is somehow less trustworthy in the interpretation of what’s in a political agreement than the Supreme Leader of Iran, that’s an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries, and we’re seeing this again and again,” Obama told reporters at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama. (Photo: Carlos Ibarr/EPA/Landov)

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Shooting Back - “When I hear some, like Sen. McCain recently, suggest that our secretary of state, John Kerry, who served in the United States Senate, a Vietnam veteran, provided exemplary service to this nation, is somehow less trustworthy in the interpretation of what’s in a political agreement than the Supreme Leader of Iran, that’s an indication of the degree to which partisanship has crossed all boundaries, and we’re seeing this again and again,” Obama told reporters at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama. (Photo: Carlos Ibarr/EPA/Landov)

The Real Deciders? - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has crafted bipartisan legislation that would allow Congress to approve or disapprove a nuclear deal with Iran. The White House has threatened to veto such a bill. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

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The Real Deciders? - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has crafted bipartisan legislation that would allow Congress to approve or disapprove a nuclear deal with Iran. The White House has threatened to veto such a bill. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Give Talks a Chance - Kerry traveled to Capitol Hill on April 13 and 14 to brief House and Senate lawmakers on the nuclear negotiations. "We hope Congress will listen carefully ... but also give us some space so we will be able to complete a very difficult task," the secretary of state told reporters. (Photo: CBS News)

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Give Talks a Chance - Kerry traveled to Capitol Hill on April 13 and 14 to brief House and Senate lawmakers on the nuclear negotiations. "We hope Congress will listen carefully ... but also give us some space so we will be able to complete a very difficult task," the secretary of state told reporters. (Photo: CBS News)