Nuclear accord will go into effect when remaining issues resolved: Araghchi

The Geneva nuclear deal will go into effect after Tehran and the six world powers reach a mutual agreement on how to implement the provisions of the Geneva deal, a top Iranian nuclear negotiator has said.
Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) clinched a landmark deal in Geneva in November, according to which Iran agreed not to expand its nuclear program for six months in exchange for limited sanctions relief.

The agreement is designed to provide time to negotiate a comprehensive deal to help resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.

“January 20 has been proposed as the implementation date and the two sides are making preparations for that, but fixing this date is conditional on reaching a mutual agreement on the remaining issues,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said during a press conference on Monday, IRNA reported.

Representatives from Iran have held three rounds of meetings with nuclear experts and sanctions specialists from the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany in Geneva to work out the implementation of the breakthrough nuclear accord.

Commenting on the last round of expert-level meetings, which was held on December 30 and 31, Araqchi said that the two sides had made “good progress.”

The technical talks started on December 9, but Iran broke them off briefly after the United States blacklisted an additional 19 Iranian companies and individuals under its existing sanctions.

Iranian officials said the move violated the spirit of the deal, but U.S. officials said it did not breach the agreement.

Araqchi also said that he would most likely hold a meeting with Helga Schmid, the European external action service’s deputy secretary general for political affairs and a deputy of European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, to discuss some issues this week, the Fars News Agency reported.

Ashton represents the 5+1 group in the nuclear negotiations with Iran.