Arak Heavy Water Reactor; Tripartite Meeting in Vienna, Clarification for Representatives in Arak

Simultaneously with the release of a report on the tripartite meeting of representatives from Iran, China, and the United States in Vienna to discuss the redesign of the Arak reactor, members of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Commission visited this reactor on Tuesday, and their ambiguities have been completely "resolved." According to the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, Iran has agreed to change the design of the Arak reactor with international participation so that it cannot produce weapon-grade plutonium, while also transferring the spent fuel from the Arak reactor out of the country during its operational period. Based on the JCPOA document, this international participation includes the member countries of the P5+1 group and other countries that the parties agree upon. Shortly thereafter, in late July, China announced that based on the comprehensive nuclear agreement, a joint working group has been formed for the reconstruction and redesign of the Arak heavy water reactor, co-chaired by China and the United States, and a preliminary roadmap for the reconstruction of the Arak reactor has been designed. Now, on the sidelines of the IAEA General Conference, where Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization, is also present, ISNA reported on the tripartite meeting of Iran, China, and the United States to "prepare documents related to the implementation of the Arak redesign." In this context, ISNA referred to Salehi's recent trip to China, noting that during this visit, he discussed China's role in the redesign of the Arak heavy water reactor while visiting the Chinese heavy water reactor. At that time, reports indicated that Salehi's trip to China was aimed at "taking the first steps" in the redesign of the Arak reactor within the framework of the JCPOA. The visit of JCPOA Commission members to the Arak reactor and the resolution of ambiguities were reported by news agencies on Tuesday, with one member of this commission stating that during this visit, the representatives' ambiguities were completely resolved. ISNA reported on Tuesday afternoon, September 23, quoting Abbasali Mansouri, a member of the JCPOA Commission, that "one of the issues that had previously caused significant ambiguity among the representatives in the JCPOA Commission was the core of the Arak reactor, which was previously loaded with natural uranium fuel, and it was agreed in the agreement that another core would be replaced that would operate with enriched uranium fuel." This member of the JCPOA Commission pointed out that the explanations provided by Ali Akbar Salehi and some experts in this commission did not resolve the critics' ambiguities, adding that "following this visit, the representatives' ambiguities regarding the relocation of the reactor core have been 100 percent resolved." Mr. Mansouri also added that during this visit, "we concluded that the efficiency of the new system is higher than that of the previous system, and the core that is now being replaced has greater capability in addressing patients' issues and can respond to patients' problems in the field of radiopharmaceuticals up to twice as effectively." Previously, statements by the U.S. Secretary of State regarding the removal of the Arak reactor core and filling its tank with concrete had raised ambiguities about the redesign of the reactor, but immediately, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization reminded that "the reactor pit is considered its core, and therefore it will not be damaged" and "what will be filled with concrete is not the reactor pit but rather the steel tank inside it that will be removed from the reactor."