Iran and the UN nuclear agency will meet on Tuesday in Vienna to prepare for the final phase of the agency's probe into Tehran's nuclear past, which is crucial to the full implementation of the July 14 nuclear deal with major powers.
The accord, reached with P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany), provides for sanctions relief in exchange for temporary limitations on Iran's nuclear work.
Parallel to measures by the two sides to comply with the terms of deal, the International Atomic Energy Agency is investigating what it calls possible military dimensions of Tehran's past nuclear activities.
Iran has denied allegations that its nuclear program might have been geared to developing nuclear warheads.
A roadmap agreement signed between Iran and the IAEA alongside the more comprehensive Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is officially called, set a December 15 deadline for the agency to present a final assessment report on the issue for action by the board of governors.
The roadmap committed Iran to providing enough data to the UN body by October 15 to allow the agency to accomplish its task.
IAEA has confirmed that Iran has met all its roadmap commitments.
The final report is expected to be submitted to the board of governors by December 1, giving it plenty of time until the mid-December target date to consider the IAEA's assessment and decide whether to close Iran's case by adopting a resolution to be drafted by P5+1.
***Araqchi-Amano Talks
Abbas Araqchi, the head of the Foreign Ministry's office for the implementation of JCPOA, will hold talks with IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments on the issue, IRNA reported.
Parallel to the meeting, a delegation of Iranian experts headed by Ambassador to IAEA Reza Najafi will hold talks with a team from the nuclear watchdog led by deputy IAEA director general and the head of the Department of Safeguards, Tero Varjoranta.
US Coordinator for Iran Nuclear Implementation Stephen Mull was to meet representatives from other members of P5+1 on Sunday to discuss progress made toward the implementation of JCPOA.
P5+1 representatives are also expected to hold discussions with IAEA delegates.
The lifting of sanctions is subject to the closure of PMD case and completion of Iran's measures set out in JCPOA.
***Joint Commission to Convene
The action plan provides for the establishment of a Joint Commission made up of representatives from all parties to the deal, tasked with monitoring it and addressing issues related to its implementation.
The commission met for the first time on October 19, a day after the two sides officially adopted the accord.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the commission will meet again this week.
"The second meeting of the Joint Commission is due to convene in the coming days in Vienna to discuss the implementation of the accord," the top diplomat said on the sidelines of a ceremony in Tehran on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.
