Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 27
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Redesigning the Arak nuclear reactor will not be a single project and will be implemented in three phases, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
"The project will be carried out under the management of Iran. In other words, all others will somehow work with us," Iran 's IRNA news agency quoted Zarif as saying Oct. 27.
"In the first phase, the joint statement between Salehi, the US energy minister and the Chinese counterpart was issued," Zarif said.
"In the second phase, the official document will be signed by ministers or other high-ranking officials of Iran and the P5+1 group. And the third phase will be about details of each project related to the Arak reactor," Zarif explained.
The redesigning process will be in accordance with the Supreme Leader's guidelines, decisions of the Supreme National Security Council and the parliament's approval, he noted.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesman Behrooz Kamalvandi said Oct. 26 that finalizing a document on the Arak nuclear reactor is the first and foremost step in Iran's nuclear agreement.
However, any measure should be taken based on President Hassan Rouhani's orders within the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he added.
All the methods for cooperation and provision of equipment should be explained in the document, he said, adding that a draft of the document was prepared last week in Vienna.
The document is being studied and will probably be signed by the foreign ministers of the two sides in the next few days, he noted.
The reactor's redesign is necessary based on the nuclear deal that was signed between Tehran and the P5+1 (US, Russia, China, France, UK, and Germany) last month.
The deal once implemented is expected to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of most international sanctions.
Edited by CN