Iran pledges to start eliminating uranium Jan 20, White House says

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran has pledged to start eliminating some of its uranium stockpile on January 20, the White House said Sunday, Jan 12.

That gives an official start time for the six-month interim deal with Iran, which was first announced in November.

"As of that day, for the first time in almost a decade, Iran's nuclear program will not be able to advance, and parts of it will be rolled back, while we start negotiating a comprehensive agreement to address the international community's concerns about Iran's program," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement Sunday, according to CNN.

Iranian officials also confirmed the start date for the deal, state media reported.

As part of the agreement, Iran has agreed to start eliminating its stockpile of higher levels of enriched uranium, to dismantle some infrastructure that makes higher-level uranium enrichment possible, and not to start up additional centrifuges.

Representatives from the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency will also monitor Iran's nuclear facilities and make sure the country is taking the required steps as part of the deal.

In exchange, some sanctions against Iran will be eased as part of what the White House calls "modest relief."

U.S. officials estimate the overall sanctions relief provided to Iran as part of the deal will total around $7 billion -- $4.2 billion of which consists of restricted Iranian assets that will be freed up gradually.

"The $4.2 billion in restricted Iranian assets that Iran will gain access to as part of the agreement will be released in regular installments throughout the six months," Kerry said. "The final installment will not be available to Iran until the very last day."

It took three rounds of meetings with technical experts to hammer out the details of implementing the deal, European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton said in a statement Sunday.

Iranian deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, announced the deal's start date at a press conference Sunday, saying that his country would stop 20% uranium enrichment at that time, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

"There's $4.2 billion of Iran's oil income which will be released, and from the other side, the conversion of 20% enriched material to oxide or diluting it (will) be carried out. This action on our side, and that one on theirs, will be performed within a six-month span," he said.

Even as they hailed the start date as a significant step forward Sunday, officials cautioned that the toughest negotiations are yet to come.

"The negotiations will be very difficult," Kerry said, "but they are the best chance we have to be able to resolve this critical national security issue peacefully, and durably."