Abbas Araghchi: Iran has sold 32 tons of heavy water to the U.S.

The Iranian official responsible for implementing the Vienna nuclear agreement stated that in the past 50 days, Iran has sold 32 tons of heavy water to the United States and 10 tons of enriched uranium to Russia, entering the international market as a "nuclear material exporter." According to ISNA news agency, Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday, March 9, that Iran has purchased 140 tons of yellowcake from Russia and 60 tons from Kazakhstan, and has "almost" sold 10 tons of 3.5% enriched uranium to Russia. He also mentioned that Iran has sold 32 tons of heavy water to the U.S. Ali-Asghar Zarean, deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization, had stated on January 12 that Iran would sell "about 40 tons of surplus heavy water through an intermediary country to the Americans." According to the Vienna nuclear agreement, Iran can maintain a maximum of 130 tons of heavy water as reserves and must export its surplus production. Under this agreement, Iran will also make technical changes to the Arak heavy water reactor production lines with the help of the U.S. and China. Iranian officials stated that in the early days of January, Iran exported 11 tons of enriched uranium to Russia with the help of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Norway, in exchange for 197 tons of yellowcake. In another part of his remarks, Araghchi noted the release of 13 tons of Iran's blocked gold abroad, the removal of about 800 individuals and entities from the UN and U.S. sanctions lists, the possibility of reconnecting Iranian banks to SWIFT, and the visits of various business delegations to Iran as results of the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement in the past 50 days. He also stated that "the impact of lifting sanctions is time-consuming due to technical discussions." The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister announced that Iran's oil sales had dropped from 2.5 million barrels per day to 1 million barrels due to sanctions, and without the Geneva agreement, it would have reached "almost zero." He pointed out that after the Vienna nuclear agreement, Iran's oil sales have increased to between 1.4 million and 1.7 million barrels per day, although Tehran has lost some of its old customers during this period. According to Araghchi, some countries that held Iran's "blocked or unblocked" funds in their banks during the sanctions are "obstructing" the return of these funds to keep them longer. He did not mention the names of these countries or the amounts of these funds. After the interim Geneva agreement reached on November 24, 2013, prior to the Vienna nuclear agreement, $7 billion of Iran's assets were released. According to Iranian Central Bank officials, after the Vienna nuclear agreement, $89 billion of Iran's blocked assets in countries like Japan, South Korea, and the UAE will be released, of which "$29 billion" will be the government's share and "usable."