The White House has released a summary of the implementation deal of the six-month interim nuclear agreement with Iran, in an attempt to ease pressure from domestic opponents of the pact.
The summary of “technical understandings” includes a timetable for inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities by UN atomic watchdog IAEA officials.
According to the summery released on Thursday, on January 20, the IAEA (International Economic Energy Agency) will report on the current status of Iran’s nuclear programme, and particularly on its uranium enrichment programme and the Arak reactor.
The IAEA will also report on several specific steps that Iran has committed to take by or on the first day of implementation, including halting production of near-20 per cent enriched uranium and disabling the configuration of the centrifuge cascades Iran has been using to produce it.
In addition, over the course of the Joint Plan of Action, the IAEA will verify that Iran is not enriching uranium in roughly half of installed centrifuges at Natanz and three-quarters of installed centrifuges at Fordow, including all next generation centrifuges.
The summery gives details of the agreement — the commitment made by Iran to contain its nuclear programme and the promises made by P5+1 to relax the international sanctions against it.
P5+1 includes the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.
“The Joint Plan of Action marks the first time in nearly a decade that the Islamic Republic of Iran has agreed to specific actions that stop the advance of its nuclear programme, roll back key aspects of the programme, and include unprecedented access for international inspectors,” the White House in its summary said.
The move came after reports that US officials were forced to deny claims that there was a secret side deal accompanying the interim nuclear pact reached in Geneva last year.
The summery was released after details of the agreement was shared with the Congress.
“Today we provided Congress with a document containing the technical understandings related to the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action,” State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters.
To ensure Iran is fulfilling its commitments, the IAEA will be solely responsible for verifying and confirming all nuclear-related measures, consistent with its ongoing inspection role in Iran, the summery said.
In addition, the EU, P5+1 and Iran will establish a Joint Commission to work with the IAEA to monitor implementation of the Joint Plan of Action.
Any decisions that are required on the basis of these discussions will be referred to the Political Directors of the EU, the P5+1, and Iran, it said.
Iran has also agreed to provide for the first time, long—sought design information on the Arak reactor.
As part of this initial step, the P5+1 and EU will provide limited, temporary, and targeted relief to Iran, the summary said.
The total value of the relief is between USD 6 billion and USD 7 billion.
Some relief will be provided from the first day; most will be provided in installments over the span of the entire six-month period.
The P5+1 countries also agreed to facilitate the establishment of a financial channel intended to support humanitarian trade that is already permitted with Iran and facilitate payments for UN obligations and tuition payments for students studying abroad.
“With this implementation plan, we have made concrete progress. We will now focus on the critical work of pursuing a comprehensive resolution that addresses our concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme,” the White House said.
