Iranian official says expects sanctions to be lifted this year
People's Daily Online
(Xinhua) 07:17, October 20, 2015
VIENNA, Oct. 19 -- An Iranian official said Monday he expects sanctions to be lifted by the end of the year on the condition Iran fully implements its nuclear-related commitments made in a landmark nuclear deal adopted on Sunday.
Iranian nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi Monday acknowledged after meeting here with his counterparts from P5+1, namely the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany, that the large task of dismantling centrifuges, a key point of the deal, had not yet begun.
He told reporters the green-light to begin the process would first be required from the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, something he expected would happen soon.
Senior officials from Iran and P5+1 on Monday discussed issues such as redesign and modernization of the Arak heavy water reactor, possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear past, as well as preparations for lifting nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions against Iran, a diplomatic source told Xinhua.
Sunday's adoption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that was agreed upon on July 14, are regarded by all sides as an important milestone for pushing forward the implementation of the deal, the source said.
While both the United States and the European Union (EU) on Sunday had given notice that they were preparing to pull back sanctions in light of a full implementation, the United States said it expected Iran would take longer than two months for it to meet its side of the agreement, and for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify its compliance.
Similarly, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he expected EU sanctions against Tehran to remain in place until at least January.
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