Iranian, U.S. foreign minister focus on nuclear deal

Published 4:33 pm Saturday, January 16, 2016

VIENNA — The top diplomats of Iran and the European Union discussed implementation of a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran Saturday, as they awaited the U.N. nuclear agency’s report certifying whether Iran has met commitments under the accord.

Certification by the International Atomic Energy agency that Iran is honoring its obligations to restrict is nuclear programs would trigger sanctions relief worth an estimated $100 billion for Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini are to be joined later in the day by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Vienna, headquarters of the IAEA.

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Ahead of that, Zarif said the deal between his country and six world powers would hold, telling Iranian media that all parties would “not allow the outcome of these talks to be wasted.”

Iran insists all of its nuclear activates are peaceful. But under the July 14 deal, Iran agreed to crimp programs it could use to make nuclear weapons in return for an end to sanctions.