“And as I said separately and distinct from that, the Iranians continue to make progress on implementation. And you heard the Secretary himself last week talk about the fact that we believe that it could happen very soon,” Kirby said at a press briefing on Monday, the official website of US Department of State reported.
While answering a question regarding reports that whether or not Iran has removed the core of its Arak heavy water nuclear reactor and filled it with cement before the sanctions relief, he said, “… We’re not able to confirm them right now. I mean, we just saw these reports roughly around the same time you did. This is really also for the IAEA to confirm, and I note that they have not confirmed that on their own.”
Also referring to the US planned financial sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile program, he said, “The issues are of a technical nature, and when we’re at liberty to discuss more about it, we will”.
Earlier, reports revealed that the Treasury Department would impose sanctions against individuals in Iran, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates following Iran’s missile testing in October and November.
US officials quoted by the Wall Street Journal did not suggest a timeframe for the sanctions.
Iran has repeatedly announced that test of missiles is an issue relating to defense of its territory and has nothing to do with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a 159-page nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.
Afterwards, the 15-memebr United Nations Security Council passed a resolution that endorsed the JCPOA.