Iran, China, US Likely to Cooperate on Arak Heavy Water Reactor: Rouhani
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani announced on Saturday that the country will improve its Arak heavy water reactor with the cooperation of China and probably the United States.
In his press conference here in Tehran, Rouhani hailed Iran’s “good” relations with China, saying that the ties between the two states are progressing forward, and “there are many plans ahead where the Chinese side can participate.”
He made the remarks in reply to a question about Tehran’s ties with China, stressing that a plan to redesign an Iranian nuclear site is one of the fields where the two states can cooperate.
“One of the points agreed upon in JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) was that Arak heavy water reactor could be further modernized,” Rouhani said, referring to the text of a comprehensive nuclear accord reached between Tehran and world powers on July 14.
“This will be done by China and one of the (other) Group 5+1 member states (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany),” the Iranian president said, adding that the other country would probably be the United States.
His remarks came as earlier on Thursday, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi traveled to China to hold talks on China’s technical assistance for redesigning the Arak heavy water reactor that Tehran has undertaken to “redesign and rebuild” under a lasting nuclear deal with world powers.
According to the JCPOA, “Iran will redesign and rebuild a modernized heavy water research reactor in Arak, based on an agreed conceptual design, using fuel enriched up to 3.67 %, in a form of an international partnership which will certify the final design.”
Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as E3+3 and P5+1) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a lasting nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.
