Under the P5+1 nuclear deal, Iran needed to drastically reduce its stockpile of low-enriched uranium from the existing levels at the time. They have managed to do so today, shipping away 25,000 lbs of uranium, the bulk of their stockpile, on a container ship bound for Russia.
The shipment brings Iran even closer to meeting all of its obligations under the deal, something which the US hadn’t anticipated being done until spring but which Iran is hoping to have done in time for sanctions relief to begin before February’s elections.
The deal with Russia saw Russia sending Iran a shipment of unenriched uranium, which doesn’t count toward the stockpile limit, in exchange for the low-enriched shipment. This will allow Iran to continue running its few remaining centrifuges without rising back above the cap, as they consume uranium in their Bushehr Power Plant.
Though some US officials have expressed annoyance with the quick compliance by Iran, and suggested the US should still hold off on fulfilling its end of the deal, Secretary of State John Kerry today appeared to cheer the move, saying the deal is “on track.”
Ultimately, once the IAEA declares Iran officially in compliance with all terms of the deal, the US will have no legal recourse but to ease sanctions. The IAEA has said they expect to do so in January.
"…the US will have no legal recourse but to ease sanctions. "
yes, but nothing stopping congress from imposing new sactions,
even tougher than the old ones, for non-nukular pact reasons.
pick one at random….terrorism, human rights, destabilizing
activities, ballistic missiles, etc.
Oh! Oh! I guess that means that we will have no excuse to keeping Iran's cash that we seized – and we had such plans for it ( if we haven't already spent it). In any case, Israel wants to build 55,000 new "settler" homes on stolen Palestinian land – who is going to pay for that? Iran just doesn't play fair!
You think America's giving anything back to Iran without an army and a 'reconstruction program' attached?
The amusing side of this is that Iran is using Russia to … help it steal Russia's oil markets in Europe and thereby break the Russian stranglehold on countries like Ukraine.
I think Iran would have a much more consistent and perhaps more lucrative market in India.
Unfortunately Fox News is on in the establishment I'm in and they have someone on bashing the Iran deal and the anchor of course is making not so subtle jabs at the Russians. The neocons should just admit they want war.
While the EU sanctions are being removed, the US, at the behest of Israel, is still going to maintain its sanctions pending the arrival of an Iranian admission that 'proof' of an Iranian weapons program' cooked-up by Mossad and discovered for the CIA by Peshmerga, is true.