January 18
RI: On
January 16, the White House released the details of implementing the
nuclear deal signed by Iran and the world’s six major powers. Iran’s
Foreign Ministry, however, strongly rejected the White House statement and called it a false version of the interim nuclear agreement reached early Sunday
between Iran and the six world powers. “What has been released by the website of the
White House as a fact sheet is a one-sided interpretation of the agreed text in
Geneva and some of the explanations and words in the sheet contradict the text
of the Joint Plan of Action, and this fact sheet has unfortunately been
translated and released in the name of the Geneva agreement by certain media,
which is not true,” said a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in Tehran, according to Fars news agency.
Summary
of Technical Understandings Related to the Implementation of the Joint
Plan of Action on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Nuclear Program
On January 12, 2014, the P5+1 (the United States, United Kingdom,
Germany, France, Russia, and China, coordinated by EU High
Representative Catherine Ashton) and Iran arrived at technical
understandings for the Joint Plan of Action, which will be implemented
beginning on January 20, 2014.
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 program, roll back key aspects of the
program, and include unprecedented access for international inspectors.
The technical understandings set forth how the provisions of the Joint
Plan of Action will be implemented and verified, and the timing of
implementation of its provisions. Specifically, the technical
understandings specify the actions that Iran will take to limit its
enrichment capacity at Natanz and Fordow, as well as the limits on
safeguarded research and development (R&D); the actions Iran will
take to implement its commitments not to fuel the Arak reactor or
install remaining components at the reactor; and the actions Iran will
take to facilitate International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
verification and confirmation that Iran is fully implementing these
commitments. The understandings also clarify the reciprocal actions
that the P5+1 and the EU will take.
Between now and January 20th, Iran, the IAEA, the United States, and our
international partners, will take the remaining required steps to begin
implementing the Joint Plan of Action on that date.
What Iran Has Committed To Do
On January 20th, the IAEA will report on the current status of Iran’s
nuclear program, and particularly on its uranium enrichment program 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% enriched uranium and disabling the configuration
of the centrifuge cascades Iran has been using to produce it.
· Starting
to dilute half of the near-20% enriched uranium stockpile that is in
hexafluoride form, and continuing to convert the rest to oxide form not
suitable for further enrichment.
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.
· Limiting
its centrifuge production to those needed to replace damaged machines,
so Iran cannot use the six-month period to stockpile centrifuges.
· Not constructing additional enrichment facilities.
· Not going beyond its current enrichment R&D practices.
· Not commissioning or fueling the Arak reactor.
· Halting the production and additional testing of fuel for the Arak reactor.
· Not installing any additional reactor components at Arak.
· Not transferring fuel and heavy water to the Arak reactor site.
· Not constructing a facility capable of reprocessing. Without reprocessing, Iran cannot separate plutonium from spent fuel.
Iran has also committed to a schedule for taking certain actions during the six-month period. This includes:
· Completion
of dilution of half of its stockpile of near-20% uranium hexafluoride
in three months, and completion of conversion of the rest of that
material to oxide in six months.
· A cap on the permitted size of Iran’s up to 5% enriched uranium stockpile at the end of the six-month period.
Verification Mechanisms
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. 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. The Joint
Commission will also work with the IAEA to facilitate resolution of past
and present concerns with respect to Iran’s nuclear program.
The Joint Commission will be composed of experts of the EU, P5+1 and
Iran, and it will convene at least monthly to consider the
implementation of the Joint Plan of Action and any issues that may
arise. 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.
Transparency and Monitoring
Iran committed in the Joint Plan of Action to provide increased and
unprecedented transparency into its nuclear program, including through
more frequent and intrusive inspections as well as expanded provision of
information to the IAEA.
The Iranian enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow will now be
subject to daily IAEA inspector access as set out in the Joint Plan of
Action (as opposed to every few weeks). The IAEA and Iran are working
to update procedures, which will permit IAEA inspectors to review
surveillance information on a daily basis to shorten detection time for
any Iranian non-compliance. In addition, these facilities will continue
to be subjected to a variety of other physical inspections, including
scheduled and unannounced inspections.
The Arak reactor and associated facilities will be subject to at least
monthly IAEA inspections – an increase from the current inspection
schedule permitting IAEA access approximately once every three months or
longer.
Iran has also agreed to provide for the first time:
- Long-sought design information on the Arak reactor;
- Figures to verify that centrifuge production will be dedicated to the replacement of damaged machines; and
- Information to enable managed access at centrifuge assembly workshops, centrifuge rotor production workshops and storage facilities, and uranium mines and mills.
These enhanced monitoring measures will enable the IAEA to provide
monthly updates to the Joint Commission on the status of Iran’s
implementation of its commitments and enable the international community
to more quickly detect breakout or the diversion of materials to a
secret program.
What the P5+1 and EU Have Committed To Do
As part of this initial step, the P5+1 and EU will provide limited,
temporary, and targeted relief to Iran. The total value of the relief
is between $6 and $7 billion – a small fraction of the $100 billion in
Iranian foreign exchange holdings that will continue to be blocked or
restricted. 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 relief is structured so that the overwhelming majority of
the sanctions regime, including the key oil, banking, and financial
sanctions architecture, remains in place – and sanctions will continue
to be vigorously implemented throughout the six-month period.
Once the IAEA has confirmed Iran is implementing its commitments, in
return the P5+1 and EU have committed to do the following on the first
day of implementation:
- Suspend the implementation of sanctions on Iran’s petrochemical exports and Iran’s imports of goods and services for its automotive manufacturing sector.
- Suspend sanctions on Iran’s import and export of gold and other precious metals, with significant limitations that prevent Iran from using its restricted assets overseas to pay for these purchases.
- License expeditiously the supply of spare parts and services, including inspection services, for the safety of flight of Iran’s civil aviation sector.
- Pause efforts to further reduce purchases of crude oil from Iran by the six economies still purchasing oil from Iran.
- 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.
- Modify the thresholds for EU internal procedures for the authorization of financial transactions.
The P5+1 and EU have also committed to take certain actions to
facilitate Iran’s access to $4.2 billion in restricted Iranian funds on a
set schedule at regular intervals throughout the six months. Access to
a small portion of these funds will be linked to Iran’s progress in
completing the dilution process for near-20% enriched uranium. Iran
will not have access to the final installment of the $4.2 billion until
the last day of the six-month period.
The installments will be released on the schedule below, contingent on
the IAEA confirming that Iran is fulfilling its commitments.
February 1st - $550 million (installment #1)
March 1st - $450million (contingent on the IAEA confirming that Iran has completed dilution of half of the stockpile of near-20% enriched uranium it is required to dilute)
March 1st - $450million (contingent on the IAEA confirming that Iran has completed dilution of half of the stockpile of near-20% enriched uranium it is required to dilute)
March 7th - $550 million (installment #2)
April 10th - $550 million (installment #3)
April 15th - $450million (contingent on the IAEA confirming that Iran has completed dilution of its entire stockpile of near-20% enriched uranium it is required to dilute)
May 14th - $550 million (installment #4)
June 17th - $550 million (installment #5)
July 20th - $550million (installment #6 is on day 180) (contingent on the IAEA confirming that Iran has fulfilled all of its commitments)
A Comprehensive Solution
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 program. Shortly after
the Joint Plan of Action takes effect on January 20th, the United States
will determine with our P5+1 partners our approach to the comprehensive
solution. Discussions with Iran will follow that coordination process.
With respect to the comprehensive solution, nothing is agreed to until
everything is agreed to. We have no illusions about how hard it will be
to achieve this objective, but for the sake of our national security
and the peace and security of the world, now is the time to give
diplomacy a chance to succeed.
Tags: Diplomacy, Geneva, IAEA, Negotiations, Nuclear
Find the source of the statement @ United States Institute of Peace
Find the Persian translation of the statement @ JamGineh
