Joint Statement by Iran, the USA, and China on the Renovation of the Arak Reactor

The U.S. Department of Energy states that it, along with Iran and China, has recently negotiated in Vienna regarding the next steps towards the renovation of the Arak reactor, as outlined in the nuclear agreement. The statement released by the U.S. Department of Energy on October 18 refers to the meeting of representatives from that department and officials from the Chinese and Iranian Atomic Energy Organizations in Vienna on September 14. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, these negotiations were conducted in line with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); "Given the importance of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear security, as well as international cooperation to achieve this goal, the Department of Energy and the Atomic Energy Organizations of Iran and China emphasized this important matter. This is based on the first clause of the JCPOA, under which Iran will bear the primary responsibility for the Arak renovation plan, as its manager and owner, with the support of the JCPOA parties." Meanwhile, it has been agreed that before the "implementation day," which is the day sanctions on Iran will be lifted, a "working group" will be formed by the negotiating parties in the nuclear talks. The parties intend to present what they are able to do according to their domestic laws. One day after the release of this statement, Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and coordinator of the JCPOA, stated, "Good progress has been made so far regarding the modernization of the Arak reactor. Negotiations have been ongoing for the past three months so that we can start discussions about Arak before the approval day." He emphasized that an official document must be signed between Iran and all six negotiating countries, after which work on the Arak reactor will commence. According to this Iranian Foreign Ministry official, a draft of this document has been prepared and is in the final stages. The heavy water facilities at Arak and the removal of its core have been subjects of much debate; both during the nuclear negotiations and even afterward. The West, claiming that these facilities could produce plutonium usable in nuclear weapons, has called for structural changes to it. Hardline conservatives opposed to the nuclear agreement say that the Iranian government has "destroyed" the Arak heavy water plant with the agreement reached. Rouhollah Hosseinian, one of these individuals, threatened in the Iranian parliament that he would bury Ali Akbar Salehi and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization and the Foreign Minister of Iran, in the Arak reactor and pour cement over them. The aim of the nuclear agreement on July 14 in Vienna was to impose restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and to end international sanctions against Tehran, which have increasingly expanded in recent years. In this context, the start of the implementation of the JCPOA has been welcomed; "the first vital step" has been taken. Araghchi: The implementation day of the JCPOA is before the end of the calendar year. Larijani: The nuclear issue is a national matter, not a tribal issue. The U.S. Treasury Department is preparing to stop the sanctions. The changing landscape of "proxy wars"; war against the people in the streets of Iran. The first paragraph; the responsibility of opponents and the possibility of radicalizing Iranian society. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iran crisis.