Iran, US officials discuss JCPOA implementation

Representatives of Iran and the United States have discussed ways to implement a landmark nuclear deal reached between the Islamic Republic and six world powers in July.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi held an hour-long meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Tuesday with Stephen Mull, who is the US lead coordinator for the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany – finalized the text of the JCPOA in Vienna.

Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic.

Araqchi, who is the head of Iran Foreign Ministry’s committee for following up on the implementation of the JCPOA, is scheduled to hold talks with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano in Vienna later on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Araqchi will meet European Union deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmidt, who represents the P5+1 countries.

Meanwhile, an Iranian delegation of experts held the final round of talks on Tuesday with IAEA on finalizing outstanding issues with regard to Iran’s nuclear program. Hamid Baeidinejad, the director general for political and international security affairs at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, led the delegation while IAEA deputy chief Vario was heading the agency's team.

The IAEA chief will submit his latest report on Iran’s nuclear issue to the agency’s Board of Governors on December 1.

The governing board will review the report within 10-14 days and will probably announce its final decision on December 15.

Iran has repeatedly said it would abide by its commitments under JCPOA, saying other parties to the agreement are also required to honor their obligations.