Iran to meet nuke deal requirements soon: Kerry

The U.N. nuclear agency is set to release a report Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, on whether Iran is meeting its commitments to a deal that is meant to reduce Tehran’s ability to make atomic arms.

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to his Iranian counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, at least five times Tuesday while U.S. Navy sailors were in Iranian custody, a senior State Department official told reporters Wednesday. The incident has been described as the result of an unspecified error, possibly a mechanical failure on one of the boats or a mistake of navigation, and its significance was swiftly downplayed by the Obama administration, which predicted that the Iranians would release the 10 sailors within about a day’s time.

Iranian state TV says nuclear experts have finished removing the core of the country’s only nuclear heavy water reactor as part of Tehran’s obligations under its nuclear deal with world powers.

“One would have thought, in this interregnum between July past year when the deal was signed and now, that they would be on their best behavior”, said Dubowitz.

But the US has a lot at stake in calming tensions. USA officials sometimes draw distinctions between an apology and a lesser expression of regret.

Under the deal’s terms, Iran accepted that the Arak reactor would be reconfigured so it could not yield fissile plutonium usable in a nuclear bomb.

But he has faced criticism from hardline groups about the nuclear accord, with opponents warning it could lead to “infiltration” by the United States in Iran’s economy and other arenas. They say the nuclear deal that they opposed is preventing Obama from dealing assertively with Iran, because he is more concerned with protecting his signature foreign policy achievement.

The speedy decision may also indicate a desire to avoid a lengthy and potentially damaging debate inside Iran about the United States and the nuclear deal, which has been decried by hardliners, just weeks before parliamentary elections on February 26.

The White House would be prohibited from taking them off the list unless it assures Congress they have not “facilitated a significant transaction” for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, a foreign terrorist organization, or anyone sanctioned in connection with Iran’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, according to the legislation.

Video footage showed the moments of arrest, with the Americans on board their craft, on their knees and hands behind their heads, as well as Iranians laying out their weaponry. These include the sale of USA origin aircraft, parts and services exclusively for commercial passenger aviation end uses to Iran; the import of Iranian-origin carpets and foodstuffs; and certain activities conducted by foreign subsidiaries of US companies.

First, Washington’s response to the incident testifies to the fact that Obama and his administration will not allow anything to get in the way of implementing the nuclear deal with Iran. He thanked Secretary of State John Kerry for engaging with Iran to secure the sailors’ swift return.

As NPR’s Michele Kelemen notes, “Iran clearly had reason to resolve this quickly”.

The general prohibitions on USA persons will continue to include: investment in Iran; importing Iranian-origin goods or services; and exporting goods or services to Iran, including clearing US dollars.