Iran and 1+5 Technical Talks on JCPOA Implementation Conclude in Vienna

Reports indicate that a two-day meeting between Iran, the United States, and representatives of the 1+5 countries to discuss Iran's nuclear agreement with six world powers, known as the JCPOA, concluded on Friday, November 8, at the Bristol Hotel in Vienna, Austria. According to the state news agency IRNA, during these negotiations, Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of the negotiating team and head of the JCPOA implementation follow-up committee, reviewed the corresponding actions for entering the implementation phase of the JCPOA with Helga Schmid, representing the 1+5 countries. The report states that another focus of these negotiations was Iran's proposals for a draft resolution that the 1+5 countries are set to present to the Board of Governors. In this context, ISNA reported that sources close to the Iranian negotiating team indicated that discussions also took place regarding the resolution that the 1+5 will present to the Board of Governors concerning the conclusion of questions and ambiguities raised by the Agency regarding past and present issues. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to present a report on the remaining 'past and present' issues of Iran's nuclear program to the Board of Governors by December 15. In this context, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif met in Vienna on Thursday to discuss the implementation process of the JCPOA. Iran and the six world powers reached a comprehensive agreement on July 14 in Vienna to resolve the Islamic Republic's nuclear dispute. Under this agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran's nuclear program is limited, and in return, most international sanctions against Tehran will be lifted. According to IRNA, in another part of the negotiations on Thursday and Friday in Vienna, legal and technical experts from Iran and the 1+5 discussed the reconstruction of the Arak heavy water research reactor. Meanwhile, ISNA, citing sources close to the Iranian delegation in Vienna, reported that although Iran and the 1+5 have reached significant agreements regarding the draft of the official redesign document for Arak and there are no remaining unresolved points in this discussion, there is a possibility of holding another expert-level meeting regarding Arak. According to the report, this meeting may soon take place in one of the capitals of the 1+5 countries. Representatives from Iran, the United States, and China announced in a statement on October 18 that the renovation and redesign of the Arak reactor would be 'managed and led by Iran.' The Arak heavy water facility was one of the contentious issues between Iran and Western countries, but Iran agreed under the JCPOA to remove the core of the Arak reactor and fill its channels with concrete so that it could no longer be used. Under this agreement, Iran will make technical changes to its fuel production lines in Arak with the help of the United States and China to align with the new reactor. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, announced last week the drafting of an 'official document' regarding the redesign of the Arak reactor and stated that after this document is signed by Iran and the 5+1 group, at the instruction of the Iranian president, the 'core of the Arak reactor' will be removed.