Russian diplomat: IAEA report on Iran should result in Annulment

Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to International Organizations in Vienna Vladimir Voronkov underlined that the removal of all sanctions imposed against Iran should be the outcome of an upcoming positive report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about Tehran. “The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) should remove all the sanctions imposed against Iran after the IAEA clears up all the issues concerning Tehran’s nuclear program,” Russian-language RIA Novosti news agency quoted Voronkov as saying on Wednesday. He reiterated that the Iranian officials have voiced their readiness for cooperating with the IAEA in a bid to remove all the existing ambiguities about Iran’s nuclear program. Voronkov voiced Russia’s readiness to provide financial assistance to the IAEA to fulfill its duties within the framework of the recent Geneva agreement. On Saturday, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano said Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog would have a new round of talks on February 8 after the recent progress in their negotiations. "We started with measures that are practical and easy to implement, and then we move on to more difficult things," Amano said. He further added that the next round of talks between Iran and the IAEA is scheduled to be held on February 8. Early in November, Amano and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi signed a joint statement in Tehran which presented a roadmap for future cooperation to resolve the remaining issues between the two sides. According to the statement, the IAEA and Iran agreed to strengthen their cooperation and dialogue aimed at ensuring the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program through the resolution of all outstanding issues that have not already been resolved by the IAEA. "The IAEA agreed to continue to take into account Iran's security concerns, including through the use of managed access and the protection of confidential information," the statement said. According to the statement, it was agreed that Iran and the IAEA will cooperate further with respect to verification activities to be undertaken by the IAEA to resolve all present and past issues. It is foreseen that Iran's cooperation will include providing the IAEA with timely information about its nuclear facilities and in regard to the implementation of transparency measures. Activities will proceed in a step-by-step manner. "As a first step, Iran and the IAEA agreed to the practical measures listed in the attached Annex. Iran will provide the access and information within three months from the date of the statement (today). The IAEA will report to the Board of Governors on progress in the implementation of these measures," it said. On November 24, Iran and the world powers sealed a six-month Joint Plan of Action to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program. In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet of world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran and continue talks with the country to settle all problems between the two sides. Then after several rounds of experts talks on how to enforce the agreement, Iran and the six major world powers finalized an agreement on ways to implement the deal. On January 20, a confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that Iran has halted its 20-percent enrichment activity under the Geneva deal. Hours later the US and the EU removed part of their sanctions against Tehran.