Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 14
By Fatih Karimov- Trend:
The process of nuclear deal implementation and lifting the international sanctions off Iran may start early January 2016, Hossein Jaber Ansari, a spokesman with the Iranian foreign ministry said.
If the process goes well, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) implementation will start next month, Jaber Ansari said during his weekly press conference in the foreign ministry in Tehran Dec. 14, Iranian state IRINN TV reported.
He further forecasted that the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will announce closure of the possible military dimensions (PMD) of Iran's nuclear program at its Dec. 15 meeting, paving path for nuclear deal implementation.
Under a deal reached between Iran and the P5+1(the US, France, Britain, Germany, China, and Russia) last July, sanctions against Tehran will be lifted in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities. The IAEA has been given the role of verifying Iran's commitments under the deal.
Washington and the other members of the P5+1 will submit a motion to the IAEA board on Dec. 15 to close the PMD issue.
Ansari further touched upon the recent IAEA report about Iran's nuclear activities, saying the report rejects certain allegations on Iran's nuclear program.
The IAEA released a report Dec. 2 suggesting Tehran had a nuclear weapons program for years.
"The Agency assesses that a range of activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device were conducted in Iran prior to the end of 2003 as a coordinated effort," the IAEA said, adding those activities continued after 2003, though in a less coordinated manner, and there was no credible indication of any beyond 2009.