President Hassan Rouhani said the closure of Iran's past nuclear case having cleared the path for the implementation of the nuclear deal, it is time to turn to economy.
"We should prepare ourselves for an economic movement. The government is succeeding in gradually delivering on its vows to people to overcome the hurdles" in the way of economic revival, Rouhani said.
"The private sector, businessmen and entrepreneurs should become active" after sanctions are lifted under the pact with major powers, which requires Iran to accept temporary constraints on its nuclear program in return, Rouhani was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The president was making a televised speech on Wednesday, a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors adopted a resolution under the July 14 nuclear deal to formally close its inquiry into Iran's nuclear past.
He said the passage of the resolution is an "ethical, political and technical victory," establishing that the Islamic Republic is reliable and keeps its promises.
"[It] was not just a legal or technical success. It demonstrated this establishment is honest with its people and the world, has never lied and will never lie and adheres to its commitments," he said.
"It was a very complicated issue to resolve. This was achieved in light of interaction with the world. If it weren't for nuclear negotiations and the nuclear agreement … the matter could not have been resolved merely through [cooperation with] the UN agency."
All Positive
A senior nuclear negotiator said the resolution is all positive, living up to Iran's expectations.
"Nowhere has it expressed concern, and positive and constructive wording has been used all over the text," Abbas Araqchi said of the document. "No negative phrase has been used."
"The resolution contains every positive point we expected ... and has opened a new chapter for cooperation between Iran and the agency," the head of the Foreign Ministry's office for implementation of the nuclear accord with major powers told state TV on Tuesday.
The IAEA concluded its investigation, but it continues to monitor Iran's compliance with the accord.
Iran's ambassador to the IAEA said the country is hurrying to implement its side of the deal so as to bring about the lifting of international sanctions as quickly as possible, Reuters reported.
"We are intending to complete this process within two to three weeks, so accelerate the implementation day as soon as possible," Reza Najafi told reporters shortly after the Tuesday meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation board, at which the resolution was unanimously passed.
The measures Iran must put in place include cutting its number of centrifuges, reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium and redesigning the Arak heavy water reactor. Najafi said reconfiguration of the Arak reactor would be the hardest of the requirements to implement.
"A fuel swap with Russia, in which much of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium will be exchanged for a less refined form of uranium known as yellowcake, would be relatively simple and could happen quickly," he added.
Time to Focus on JCPOA
US Secretary of State John Kerry, whose country, along with other five powers, namely Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany known as P5+1, negotiated the Iran deal and welcomed the UN nuclear watchdog's decision.
In a written statement, Kerry also said the board's decision would now allow it to focus on the implementation of the pact, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
IAEA chief Yukiya Amano submitted the result of his agency's investigation into what it calls possible military dimensions of Tehran's past nuclear work to allow P5+1 to draft the resolution.
The report claimed Iran engaged in coordinated activities related to developing nuclear weapons up until 2003, though it found no credible sign of weapons-related work beyond 2009.
Tehran denies there has been any diversion in its nuclear program toward making a nuclear bomb, insisting its program is aimed only at civilian purposes.
"Today's resolution makes clear that the IAEA's board of governors will be watching closely to verify that Iran fully implements its commitments under the JCPOA," Kerry said.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also welcomed the move.
He said, "This is an important day for our engagement with Iran. A four-year investigation of the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program has come to a close, and the IAEA's focus can now shift to verifying and monitoring the historic Iran nuclear deal agreed in July," according to Britain's Foreign Office.
"We look forward to seeing Iran complete the remaining activities required of it before Implementation Day can occur and sanctions can begin to be lifted."
