US State Department spokesman John Kirby said Iran has so far made good on its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the July nuclear deal is formally known, noting that the implementation day of the agreement “could happen very soon.”
“And as I said separately and distinct from that, the Iranians continue to make progress on implementation. And you heard the secretary himself last week talk about the fact that we believe that it could happen very soon,” Kirby said at a press briefing on Monday, according to the official website of the US State Department.
While answering a question regarding reports that whether or not Iran has removed the core of its Arak heavy water nuclear reactor and filled it with cement before the sanctions relief, he said, “We’re not able to confirm them right now.
I mean, we just saw these reports roughly around the same time you did. This is really also for the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] to confirm, and I note that they have not confirmed that on their own.”
Also referring to the US planned financial sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile program, he said, “The issues are of a technical nature and when we’re at liberty to discuss more about it, we will.”
Earlier, reports revealed that the Treasury Department would impose sanctions against individuals in Iran, Hong Kong and the UAE following Iran’s missile testing in October and November.
US officials quoted by the Wall Street Journal did not suggest a timeframe for the sanctions.
Iran has repeatedly announced that the missile testing is an issue related to the defense of its territory and has nothing to do with the nuclear pact.
Iran and P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) on July 14 concluded the nuclear agreement that will remove sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program after coming into force.
