Baeidi-Nejad: A Special Working Group to Ensure the Implementation of Sanctions Relief Will Be Formed

Hamid Baeidi-Nejad, the Director General for Political and International Security Affairs at Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated on Friday, April 22, that a "special working group" will be formed to ensure the implementation of sanctions relief following the agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries. Meanwhile, Helga Schmid, the Deputy Coordinator for Foreign Policy of the European Union, also wrote on Twitter on Friday that the P5+1 agreed to cooperate to reassure economic companies regarding the lifting of sanctions on Iran. Schmid described the joint commission meeting to review the implementation of the nuclear agreement, known as the JCPOA, as constructive. The third meeting of the joint commission reviewing the JCPOA was held on Thursday and Friday in the capital of Austria. According to IRNA, Baeidi-Nejad, who was in Vienna to negotiate with experts from the P5+1, wrote on his Telegram channel: "To more effectively pursue the resolution of issues, the parties agreed to form a special working group to ensure the implementation of sanctions relief, allowing for a more focused approach to resolving Iran's challenges." In recent weeks, Iran has urged the P5+1 members to take actions to remove obstacles preventing the country from benefiting from the nuclear agreement. In this context, Iran has criticized what it calls "obstruction" by the U.S. in the implementation of the nuclear agreement. Baeidi-Nejad commented on the third meeting of the joint commission in Vienna, stating: "The commission members reviewed and assessed nuclear issues and the topic of sanctions relief. Given the problems regarding banking and currency transfers between Iranian banks and major European banks, the commission dedicated significant time at the expert and deputy levels to this issue." He added that various ways to resolve these problems were discussed during this round of negotiations. The Director General for Political and International Security Affairs at Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also mentioned that one of the topics finalized on the sidelines of today's commission meeting was the signing of a contract between the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization and American companies for the sale of 32 tons of heavy water, a transaction that was previously deemed impossible due to the sensitivity of the heavy water nuclear material. According to ISNA, this marks the first time in the political history of Iran and the U.S. that an official cooperation contract (within the framework of the JCPOA) has been signed. The U.S., France, the U.K., China, and Russia, along with Germany, the P5+1 member countries, reached an agreement last year to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute. The implementation of this agreement began last December.