World leaders have hailed the Iran nuclear deal, with US President Barack Obama envisioning a "new direction" and Russian President Vladimir Putin voicing a global "huge sigh of relief", although Israel criticised it as a "historic mistake".
The accord, which seeks to curb the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, was announced on Tuesday by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the European Union's policy chief Federica Mogherini in a joint statement in the Austrian capital.
Iran's state news agency IRNA says
  • Ban on Iran to buy certain dual-use machinery and technology will end
  • EU and US economic and financial sanctions on Iran will be lifted
  • Billions of US dollars of Iran's frozen assets will be released
  • Sanctions on Iran's central bank, the National Iranian Oil Company, shipping lines, Iran Air, many other institutions and people will be lifted
Obama said the agreement offered a chance to reset strained relations with Tehran.
"Every pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off," he said, adding that the deal "offers an opportunity to move in a new direction. We should seize it."
Part of the deal, which covers the lifting of US sanctions need to be approved by the American Congress, and Obama vowed to veto any legislation blocking it.
"This deal is not built on trust. It is built on verification," said Obama.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the "honest and hard endeavours" of the country's nuclear negotiating team in a post on Twitter carrying the #IranDeal hastag.
Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran, commented on the deal on Twitter:
Addressing the Iranian nation, Rouhani said: "We didn't ask for charity. We asked for fair, just and win-win negotiations."
He said that "a new chapter has started" and now the government could now focus on other issues of the country.


Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, criticised the deal calling the decision "a historic mistake for the world".
"Iran will get hundreds of billions of dollars with which it will be able to fuel its terror machine," he said, referring to the expected lifting of crippling Western sanctions on its oil and banking sectors.
In a second statement on Tuesday afternoon, Netanyahu said the deal gives Iran incentives "not to change" and said "the world is a much more dangerous place today than it was yesterday."
 What do we know about Iran deal contents?
Meanwhile, thousands of Iranians gathered in the capital to celebrate the deal following the end of Ramadan fast on Tuesday. They waved Iranian flags from their cars, while drivers honk their car horns.
"My personal opinion is that I wish they had done this sooner so people wouldn't have go through all these difficulties," Masumeh Momeni, a resident of Tehran, told Al Jazeera.
'Win-win solution'
Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif called the deal a "win-win" solution to end "an unnecessary crisis and open new horizons for dealing with serious problems that affect our international community."
"I believe this is a historic moment. We are reaching an agreement that is not perfect for everybody but it is what we could accomplish and it is an important achievement for all of us," said Zarif.
Mogherini said the decision demonstrated that "diplomacy, coordination, cooperation can overcome decades of tensions and confrontations".
In a separate interview with Al Jazeera, Mogherini said "Iran now has a historic opportunity to show constructive engagement."
US Secretary of State John Kerry also praised the the agreement saying, "it is a step away from the spectre of conflict and towards the possibility of peace."
Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Vienna, said that for the presidents of the United States and Iran "it is a historic deal that would serve some kind of a re-set after decades of mistrust."
But he also said that "there are many forces that do not want the deal to succeed".
Celebration in Tehran [Mohammad Ali Najib/Al Jazeera]
The accord seeks to end nearly 12 years of nuclear stand off between Iran and the western powers led by the US.
The accord will keep Iran from producing enough material for a nuclear weapon for at least 10 years and impose new provisions for inspections of Iranian facilities, including military sites.
Iran was resisting the probe in the country's alleged work on nuclear weapons and demanding that a United Nations arms embargo to be lifted.
It also demanded that any UN Security Council resolution approving the broader deal no longer describe Iran's nuclear activities as illegal.
The accord also contains what is being described as a snapback clause.
This means UN sanctions will be restored within 65 days if Iran does not comply with the terms of the agreement.
Israel's Prime Minister reacts angrily at Iran deal
In Damascus, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, a key Iran ally, had "achieved a historic victory" with the agreement.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the deal would boost the regional economy.
Alongside him in Ankara, his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari also supported the deal and emphasised keeping "doors of dialogue open".
Meanwhile the Vatican hoped the agreement would "bear fruit" which would extend beyond simply Iran's nuclear programme.
In Tehran, Hassan Ahmadian, a political analyst, told Al Jazeera that most of the citizens welcome the deal.
After years of sanctions, many Iranians said they are hopeful that the deal would usher economic recovery in the country [Mohammad Ali Najib/Al Jazeera]
Iran needs billions of dollars of investment and meaningful economic gains are likely to take many months [Mohammad Ali Najib/Al Jazeera]
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies