US hails release of document outlining modernization of Iran’s Arak reactor

The administration of US President Barack Obama has welcomed the release of a document by Iran describing the role of the P5+1 group of countries in modernizing the Arak reactor.

US State Department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said the document is an important step by Iran towards operationalizing Tehran’s commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries.

“We welcome the release yesterday of the document outlining the expected roles by all of the participants to the JCPOA in regard to the redesign and reconstruction of Iran's Arak nuclear reactor,” Toner said Monday in a statement.

US Secretary of State John Kerry signed the document, along with the other foreign ministers from the P5+1 and Iran, as well as the EU High Representative.

On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 countries – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany – finalized the text of the JCPOA in the Austrian capital.

“This document is an important step towards operationalizing Iran's commitments under the JCPOA regarding the Arak reactor, and is one of many that Iran is completing before Implementation Day,” Toner said.

“That will occur when the IAEA verifies that Iran has completed all of the required nuclear steps specified in the text of the JCPOA,” he added.

On Saturday, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced that the Islamic Republic has struck "a robust" deal with the P5+1 group of countries on the modernization of the Arak reactor.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the AEOI, said that the document will remove any concerns regarding the redesigning of the reactor.

Based on the agreement between Tehran and the P5+1, “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 percent, in a form of an international partnership which will certify the final design.”

According to the document, which was released earlier on Saturday by Iran’s official IRNA agency, Tehran will assume the position of project manager. China will also participate in the redesigning and construction of the modernized reactor.

According to the document, the United States will provide technical support and will review the reactor's modernized design.

France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the review. Russia, a major broker of the July 14 deal, will provide consultation in the process.

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