Iran Begins Removing Centrifuges Following IAEA Resolution: Salehi
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced that the country has started to decommission some of operating centrifuges in its nuclear sites after a UN resolution closed a case on the so-called possible military dimensions (PMD) in Tehran’s nuclear program.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Ali Akbar Salehi pointed to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Tuesday resolution which closed the so-called PMD case, saying that the process to remove some operating centrifuges has begun following the adoption of the resolution.
He also said that at this stage, it has been agreed that Iran give its stockpiles of enriched uranium to Russia and receive yellowcake in return.
The resolution, proposed earlier by the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), was put to the vote in a session of the UN watchdog’s Board of Governors on Tuesday in Vienna and got approved with the unanimous vote of the member states.
It paved the way for actually closing Tehran’s nuclear dossier and starting the implementation phase of a lasting nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was finalized between Iran and the Group 5+1 in July.
The IAEA has been given the role of verifying Iran’s commitments under the nuclear deal with six world powers.
As part of a Road-map signed between Iran and the IAEA on July 14, the agency had been required to finish its investigations about Iran’s nuclear activities and submit a report to the Board of Governors by December 15.
A report released on December 2 by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano on Iran’s nuclear program confirmed that the agency has no credible indications of suspicious work in Tehran’s nuclear activities.
Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all economic and financial bans against Tehran.
