Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated on Wednesday that Iran is due to get relief from punishing economic sanctions very soon, perhaps in the coming days.
“Implementation day … is going to take place very soon, likely within the next coming days somewhere,” Kerry said during a speech at National Defense University. He was referring to the day under the Iran nuclear agreement under which the International Atomic Energy Agency verifies that Iran has met all the requirements for sanctions relief.
“When it happens, we are convinced it will make us and our partners around the world more safe and secure,” Kerry said, speaking for the Obama administration.
Kerry made similar assertions last week that Iran was close to meeting its commitments. And on Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also said Tehran will get relief from punishing economic sanctions very soon.
Earlier this week, the White House downplayed how soon Tehran will be free of the international economic sanctions that have crippled its economy.
“The pressure is on the Iranians to deliver at this point,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday, before Iran’s military detained and released 10 American sailors.
“In addition, we’re not just going to take their word for it,” he said. Earnest said no one will lift sanctions until the International Atomic Energy Agency verifies that Iran has met all agreed upon conditions.
“Then and only then will Iran begin receiving the sanctions relief they seek,” Earnest said.
Kerry told the audience of service members gathered at NDU that Iran is now well on its way to dismantling critical elements of its nuclear facilities. “Just yesterday, the foreign minister reported to me” that a key plutonium nuclear reactor is offline and “will be filled with concrete” within hours.
He also pointed to Tehran’s recent shipping of 25,000 tons of enriched uranium to Russia for processing as indication that Iran is on the path to sanctions relief.
“In the meantime, the IAEA will build up its capacity to inspect … and for the lifetime of this agreement, Iran is subject to the additional protocol, which means that where there is a suspicion of some activity that is in contravention of the Nonproliferation Treaty, we will have the right to inspect,” Kerry said.
