Thomas M. Countryman: “We have become, I would say, dangerously uncompetitive on the nuclear sphere when we cannot compete with countries like…”

In an environment as conflictive and combustible as the Middle East, making sure that a country like Iran does not have a nuclear weapon has to be a strategic goal of utmost importance.

It would be grasped by supporters of a nuclear program in Iran and by hardliners in Iran to assert that we were an unreliable interlocutor.

The agreement is important to both governments. It serves as a commitment to each other that we are both determined to remain both technical and commercial leaders in the global nuclear power industry.

This agreement is not a commercial contract. It does not provide for the sale of nuclear equipment or technology to China.