Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, does not consider the lifting of sanctions against Iran by the end of January to be impossible, but "provided that everything goes well and correctly." In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, December 25, he assured that Iran, as one of the parties to the nuclear agreement with world powers, is rapidly fulfilling its commitments. He stated: "Our inspectors are carrying out their duties and monitoring their activities [in Iran], and based on their reports, I can say that Iran is quickly taking the actions it has committed to."
Previously, President Rouhani had emphasized that sanctions against Iran would be lifted in January to fulfill one of his electoral promises, following the closure of the case regarding the "possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program," known as PMD. Rouhani also referred to Iran's commitments and stated that the lifting of the Board of Governors' resolution and six Security Council resolutions is contingent upon the fulfillment of these commitments. These commitments include actions such as reducing the number of centrifuges, removing the core of the Arak reactor, and transferring Iran's 20% enriched uranium stockpiles, which pave the way for lifting sanctions.
Yukiya Amano also commented on the possibility of lifting sanctions in January, saying: "If your question is whether Iran will complete its preliminary actions in the next two to three weeks, I must say that I have no reason to doubt that."
He added: "If everything goes well, conditions will ease, but if there is mismanagement in the meantime, it will take longer. It is difficult to predict that from now."
Meanwhile, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announced the signing of a final agreement between Iran and world powers for the removal of the core of the Arak reactor, which is scheduled for next Monday, December 30. According to Mehr News Agency, Ali Akbar Salehi stated on Wednesday, December 25: "In order to remove the core of the Arak reactor, actions must be taken by the other party. One of these actions was the closure of the past and present case of Iran, which was completed yesterday. Another is that a basic agreement must be signed between Iran and the other parties, which I hope will take place next Monday."
With the removal and redesign of the Arak reactor's core, Iran's path to plutonium acquisition and its potential efforts to build a nuclear weapon will be blocked.