Kerry to meet Zarif over Iran deal
US Secretary of State John Kerry will be heading to Vienna, Austria to meet Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini over the Iran nuclear deal.
Kerry, Zarif and Mogherini will discuss the nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on Saturday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Friday.
"As we've said, all parties have continued making steady progress toward 'Implementation Day' of the JCPOA, which will ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program," Toner said.
Kerry's trip comes as the UN nuclear agency is expected to verify Tehran’s compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA reached with six world powers last July.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will issue its final report on Saturday, according to a diplomatic source.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told a news briefing on Friday that Iran has made important progress in its effort to implement the nuclear agreement.
Earnest, however, said Iran will not get any sanctions relief until the IAEA verifies all steps have been completed, noting the US wants to insure that Tehran does not "cut any corners."
The European Union (EU) has also announced its readiness to lift economic sanctions against Iran as soon as the IAEA releases its report.
Iran and the P5+1 - the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany - finalized the text of the JCPOA in Vienna in July 2015.
Under the JCPOA, limits are put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic.
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