The agreement with Iran

Over the weekend, the "Great Satan" met a part of the "Axis of Evil" and struck a deal, to paraphrase a Reuters headline.

Under the agreement, Iran will pause its nuclear program for six months while diplomats hold talks aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. While the talks continue, international observers are to monitor Iran's nuclear sites.

The agreement is the product of two separate diplomatic tracks, one top secret and the other widely publicized — "a risky gambit spearheaded by the White House that nearly derailed the talks," says The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. allies in Israel and Saudi Arabia worry that the negotiations with Iran are just the latest evidence that a war-weary America is slowly seeking to close the books on a series of long-term problems, allowing Washington to pull back from its longtime commitment to the Middle East, says a Wall Street Journal analysis.

Meanwhile, lawmakers from both parties who are skeptical of the deal are making plans to increase economic sanctions on Iran if the accord falls apart, The Associated Press reports.

Here is the full text of the agreement.

And here is a White House fact sheet on the deal.