NEW YORK - The United States was set to issue conditional sanctions waivers for Iran on Sunday, though it cautioned they will not take effect until Tehran has curbed its nuclear program as required under a historic nuclear deal reached in Vienna on July 14.
Several senior U.S. officials, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said that despite Washington's move on Sunday, actual implementation of the deal was likely several months away. That means the sanctions relief Tehran is looking forward to is unlikely to come this year.
They said the timing of nuclear-related sanctions relief will depend on the speed at which Iran takes the steps needed to enable the U.N. nuclear watchdog to confirm Tehran's compliance.
"We cannot imagine it taking less than two months," one of the U.S. officials said.
Sunday was so-called "adoption day" for the deal, which came 90 days after Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China reached an agreement under which most sanctions on Iran would be lifted in exchange for limits on Tehran's nuclear activities.
Separately, Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sunday it would fulfill a commitment under the deal to implement the Additional Protocol to its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, allowing U.N. nuclear inspectors more intrusive access to Iranian facilities.
Iran would take that step on "implementation day", the IAEA said in a statement. Under the deal, that is when the agency is due to have verified that Tehran has put restrictions on its nuclear activities in place and sanctions should be lifted.
Iran would also fully implement a commitment to tell the IAEA of any plans to build nuclear facilities, as agreed under the deal, the IAEA said.
In addition to Washington's conditional orders to suspend U.S. nuclear-related sanctions, the U.S. officials said the United States, China and Iran would release a joint statement on Sunday committing to the redesign and reconstruction of the Arak research reactor so that it does not produce plutonium. (Reuters)