Russia: Joint Commission Meeting on JCPOA to Be Held Next Tuesday in Vienna

Russian officials state that the next meeting of the Joint Commission of the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, known as the JCPOA, will take place on Tuesday, July 20, in Vienna. The Russian news agency TASS reported on Thursday, July 15, the remarks of Vladimir Voronkov, Russia's permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who stated that the meeting will discuss and negotiate Iran's surplus enriched uranium and heavy water. A previous IAEA report published in early June indicated that Iran has adhered to its commitments under the JCPOA, noting that Iran has diluted or converted about 48 kilograms of its enriched uranium into fuel. However, the Russian representative at the IAEA stated that the issue of Iran's surplus enriched uranium has not been fully resolved. According to the JCPOA, Iran must keep its enriched uranium stockpile below 300 kilograms. Yet, Voronkov's comments suggest that Iran's reserves still exceed the permitted limit. He stated, "The problem arises from the fact that during enrichment, some enriched uranium remains in pipes and other equipment. Therefore, the amount of uranium discovered exceeds the set limit of 300 kilograms." Voronkov then mentioned that the second issue to be resolved is the heavy water matter. He indicated that Russia is considering purchasing heavy water from Iran so that the country can comply with the limits set in the nuclear agreement, and thus Moscow seeks negotiations with Tehran. According to the Vienna nuclear agreement, Iran is obliged to sell its surplus heavy water in international markets and ultimately reduce it to 90 tons. During this time, the Obama administration announced it would purchase 32 tons of heavy water from Iran worth $8.6 million, but this decision faced opposition from Republican members of the U.S. Congress, who voted for a proposal to ban the purchase of Iranian heavy water, a proposal that the White House has warned it would veto. Finally, Voronkov stated that he believes representatives from the U.S. and China will explain the progress of converting the Arak nuclear facility into a heavy water reactor at the Joint Commission meeting. The previous Joint Commission meeting was held in early April in Vienna, chaired by Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister.