Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that he’s seeing “important indications” that Iran is living up to the nuclear agreement reached in July, including the shipment of several tons of nuclear material out of Iran.
“One of the most significant steps Iran has taken toward fulfilling its commitments occurred today, when a ship departed Iran for Russia carrying over 25,000 pounds of low-enriched uranium materials,” Kerry said.
“The shipment included the removal of all of Iran’s nuclear material enriched to 20 percent that was not already in the form of fabricated fuel plates for the Tehran Research Reactor,” he added. “This removal of all this enriched material out of Iran is a significant step toward Iran meeting its commitment to have no more than 300 kg of low-enriched uranium by Implementation Day.”
Kerry said the shipment more than triples the estimated breakout time Iran needs to build a nuclear bomb, from the two or three months estimated before the shipment was made. But he said that’s just a step toward extending that breakout time to more than a year.
Kerry thanked Russia for facilitating the shipment, and for agreeing to give Iran “natural uranium” in exchange for the low-enriched uranium.
He said the next step is to have the International Atomic Energy Agency verify that Iran has 300 kg or less of enriched uranium, and confirm several other steps before the deal is considered to be implemented.
“These steps include removing much of Iran’s uranium enrichment infrastructure, which we understand Iran is moving quickly to achieve,” Kerry said. “Iran also must remove and render inoperable the existing core of the Arak Reactor, effectively cutting off Iran’s plutonium pathway to a nuclear weapon.”
“As we move ever closer to the implementation of the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], we will remain vigilant to ensure that its implementation achieves exactly what we set out to do from the very beginning of these negotiations, to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is and always remains exclusively for peaceful purposes,” he said.
