Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Iran and 5+1; Discussion on 'JCPOA' and 'Syrian Crisis'

The foreign ministers of Iran, the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France, and Germany participated in a meeting in New York to discuss and coordinate the implementation of the 'Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action' (JCPOA). According to the official news agency of the Islamic Republic, IRNA, the joint meeting of the foreign ministers of the seven countries took place in the early hours of October 7, Tehran time, and lasted nearly an hour. Federica Mogherini, the EU's chief foreign policy official and coordinator of the nuclear negotiations, was also present at the meeting. Following the meeting, Mogherini told reporters that the parties discussed Syria with Iran as well. She stated that there was a discussion on using the 'existing framework' to address 'regional issues,' which she described, with Syria being 'the foremost and most important' of them. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, who traveled to New York on September 22, had previously stated that 'this meeting will be held to follow up on the implementation of the JCPOA at the ministerial level, but we may also need expert meetings.' Mr. Zarif appointed Abbas Araghchi, one of his senior deputies, to lead a team tasked with following up on the implementation stages of the JCPOA. The United States had also appointed Stephen Mull, its former ambassador to Poland, as the main coordinator of the JCPOA. IRNA reports that the first joint commission of Iran and the six world powers at the level of deputy foreign ministers is also scheduled to meet in New York, although the timing of this meeting has not yet been specified. The UN headquarters in New York is hosting senior officials from around the world for the 70th General Assembly of the organization. Meetings and side discussions will continue throughout this week. Iran and the six world powers reached an agreement in Vienna on July 14, which will limit Iran's nuclear program and lead to the lifting of sanctions related to this program. The verification of the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program is the responsibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has begun its new mission in Iran. Inspections are expected to continue until the end of this calendar year. Following that, upon the agency's confirmation, the phase of lifting sanctions will arrive on what is termed 'Implementation Day.' In this context, Zarif announced the meeting with the foreign ministers of the 1+5 in New York for the implementation of the JCPOA. Amano defended the sampling process from Parchin: he stated that there is 'no issue' with this process. Shamkhani: 'We have entered the implementation phase of the JCPOA.'