TEHRAN – On Sunday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated the Islamic Republic’s position that the closing of the PMD file is a “prerequisite” for the implementation of the nuclear deal, which is officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In his letter to President Hassan Rouhani on October 21, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei approved the nuclear deal with world powers but said Tehran should not give up core elements of its nuclear program until allegations of past military dimensions had been settled.

The Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Shamkhani, Tehran’s envoy to the Vianna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, and also Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi have also announced that the implementation of the nuclear deal is dependent on the closure of the PMD.

“We have announced repeatedly that based on the decree of the Supreme Leader of the revolution the closure of the PMD file is a prerequisite for implementation of the JCPOA and this point that this file must be closed has been included in the JCPOA as a commitment of the 5+1 group,” Zarif said in a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias.

Zarif added as the Supreme Leader had said closing the PMD is a confirmation for a “proper implementation of the JCPOA and our expectation from the 5+1 group is that they act to their commitments.”

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano is set to release his final report about Iran’s present and past nuclear activities on December 1. The IAEA Board of Governors will also air its judgment on the report on December 15 by issuing a resolution.

Zarif said he hopes that the report by Amano will help close the PMD issue, adding that “if the report be realistic” the issue will get normal course.

The foreign minister said questions surrounding claims of PMD “lack validity” because Iran has never sought nuclear weapons and in order to put an end to such allegations “once and for all” Iran agreed to answer the questions by the IAEA based on a roadmap reached between the two sides in July.

The IAEA has confirmed that Iran has answered all questions within the framework of the roadmap agreement, the minister added.

He said that the term PMD has been wrongly attributed to Iran’s nuclear activities because Iran’s nuclear program has had no military dimension.

“We believe that the Board of Governors should close this issue in its resolution,” he added.

PA/