E3/EU+3 and Iran formally adopt the nuclear deal

90 days after the UN passed a resolution endorsing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal (JCPOA) between the E3/EU+3 and Iran (see previous blog), both sides will formally adopt the deal today. Formal adoption, on what the JCPOA refers to as “Adoption Day”, means that Iran will now have to begin meeting its commitments under the deal, such as dismantling proliferation-sensitive components of its nuclear facilities and dramatically reducing its uranium stockpiles, and the EU and US will make preparations to lift sanctions once Iran is confirmed by the IAEA to have met these commitments.

For the EU, this means introducing measures providing for sanctions to be lifted, and in the US President Obama will officially notify the US Congress of his intention to issue provisional waivers, and will direct government departments to prepare for implementation. The next key date in the JCPOA process is “Implementation Day”, which will take place once Iran is verified to have complied with the deal and the sanctions relief measures adopted from today take effect (see previous blog on the content of the JCPOA and its timeline here).