Draft agreement cuts Iran's nuclear hardware

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The United States and Iran are drafting elements of a nuclear deal that commits Tehran to a 40 percent cut in the number of machines it could use to make an atomic bomb, officials said Thursday. In return, Iranians would get quick relief from crippling economic sanctions and a partial lift of a U.N. embargo on conventional arms.

Agreement on Iran's uranium enrichment program could signal a breakthrough for a larger deal.

The sides are racing to meet a March 31 deadline for a framework pact and a full agreement by the end of June, even as the U.S. Congress keeps up pressure on the administration to avoid any agreement leaving Iran with an avenue to become a nuclear power.

Officials said the tentative deal imposes at least a decade of new limits on the number of centrifuges Iran can operate to enrich uranium, a process that can lead to nuclear weapons-grade material. The sides are zeroing in on a cap of 6,000 centrifuges, officials said, down from the 6,500 they spoke of in recent weeks.

Combined with other restrictions on enrichment levels and the types of centrifuges Iran can use, Washington believes it can extend the time Tehran would need to produce a nuclear weapon to at least a year.

Right now, Iran would require only two to three months to amass enough material to make a bomb.