Iran Nuclear Deal: Iranian Official Says Country’s Plans To Move Forward
On Monday in Vienna, Iran's nuclear deal with the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France moved forward as talks were finally cemented to an agreement that needed sanctions relief will be given when Iran limits its nuclear programs.
It was one of the most important meetings for the Joint Commission on Monday. High-ranking officials from the previously mentioned countries, including the European Union (EU), have now made formal steps although still without implementation.
The agreement was first drafted back in July when Iran was asked to shrink its nuclear programs that neighboring countries including the West and the EU have speculated to be aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.
According to Daily News and Analysis, when Iran denied the charges, talks were made, and, last Monday, Iran's nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi revealed that a deal was expected from the six world powers.
"Hopefully before the end of this year certainly we would have the implementation day," Araqchi said. Meanwhile, the Voice of America reports that Araqchi hopes that the implementation could happen by Dec. 31.
Actions were recently made, including formal legal steps by the Joint Commission, to kick off the lifting of sanctions against Iran.
U.S. President Barack Obama even spoke of the said preparations, saying, "I welcome this important step forward, and we, together with our partners, must now focus on the critical work of fully implementing this comprehensive resolution that addresses our concerns over Iran's nuclear program."
However, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier speculates that the lifting of the sanctions will not be until January when Iran proves that it follows the already established agreement.
"That definitely won't be the case before the end of January," he said. "Now the question is whether Iran shows that it can fulfill its commitments."
The agreement, which was previously revealed back in July, showed that Iran decreased its stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to 300 kilograms of 3.67 percent fissile purification. Weapons-grade uranium must be enriched to around 90 percent fissile purity for a total of 15 years, Daily News and Analysis reports.
Araqchi already made progress regarding the decision of whether to dilute such excess in LEU or just sell it abroad in exchange for a pure uranium. "We are on schedule and we think we can do this business instead of diluting. We can do the business and receive natural uranium in return for selling our enriched uranium to outside," Araqchi said.
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