Iraqi: The Day of Implementation of the JCPOA is Before the End of the Calendar Year

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's senior nuclear negotiator, said on Monday, October 19, that the implementation of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) is expected to take place by the end of the calendar year. According to Reuters, Mr. Araghchi told reporters after a joint commission meeting between Iran and the 1+5 group at the Coburg Hotel in Vienna, "God willing, we will definitely have the day of implementation before the end of the year." The United States and the European Union took formal steps on Sunday regarding the lifting of sanctions if Iran fulfills its commitments under the JCPOA. The German Foreign Minister has stated that EU sanctions are expected to remain in place at least until January. The issue of curbing centrifuge activities in Iran is one of the requests of the 1+5 group, and on Monday, Abbas Araghchi responded to the question, "Has Iran begun the process of deactivating centrifuges?" by saying that this process has not yet begun. Mr. Araghchi added that "we need the order of the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran for this, and it requires some groundwork that will be done in the coming days. Therefore, the beginning of this process is imminent." The nuclear agreement between Iran and the six world powers set a 90-day deadline after the issuance of a United Nations Security Council resolution for the parties to the agreement to carry out the necessary legal and political processes regarding this agreement. Sunday marked the end of this deadline and is referred to as the "day of approval or acceptance of the JCPOA." On Monday, the first day after the approval day, the first meeting of the joint commission at the deputy ministers' level was held in Vienna. Mr. Araghchi, head of the JCPOA implementation follow-up committee, stated about the agenda of the first meeting of this commission: "The announcement of the formation of the commission, reviewing the latest developments of the JCPOA, and reviewing how the parties' commitments were implemented between the 'approval day' and the 'implementation day' are the agenda of the first meeting of the joint commission." He explained the procedure of the meeting on Monday, saying: "In this meeting, the working procedure was specified. The location of the commission meetings and the working groups that will be present will now be held in Vienna, and we plan to hold this meeting every three months unless there is a reason to hold it sooner, and we decided that the next meeting will be held before the implementation day, probably sometime in the second half of November." The developments of Sunday and Monday do not have an immediate impact on the JCPOA issue but help stabilize the process of the agreement that Iran and the 1+5 group reached in July. Barack Obama, the President of the United States, ordered his government on Sunday to prepare the necessary groundwork for the lifting and cessation of the implementation of nuclear sanctions against Iran on the "day of implementation of the nuclear agreement." Regarding the Arak reactor, Abbas Araghchi explained and said: "Good progress has been made so far regarding the modernization of the Arak reactor, and negotiations that have been ongoing for the past three months were to begin discussions on Arak before the approval day." He continued: "A declaration between the three countries of Iran, China, and the United States was drafted and published yesterday, in which the three countries expressed their will to modernize Arak in due time." The Deputy Foreign Minister stated: "In addition, what is important for us is an official document that must be signed between Iran and all six member countries of the 1+5 group, the draft of which has been prepared by our experts and is in the final stages, which, God willing, will be signed between the ministers of Iran and the other six countries, and after signing, work on Arak will begin, and we hope that this work will also be completed in a short time."