Original published at RT
Tehran and the six world powers, the P5+1, have agreed to implement a nuclear deal reached in Geneva in November starting from January 20, says EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
"We will ask the International Atomic Energy Agency to undertake the necessary nuclear-related monitoring and verification activities," Ashton said Sunday.
Ashton represents the six world powers -- the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany -- in diplomatic contacts with Iran aimed at resolving the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program.
The interim deal, now entering the implementation stage, was confirmed by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
"Capitals have confirmed the result of the talks in Geneva... The Geneva deal will be implemented from January 20," the Mehr semi-official news agency quoted spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham as saying in Tehran.
US President Barack Obama has welcomed the agreement to implement the nuclear deal. He added that he would veto "any legislation enacting new sanctions during the negotiation of the long-term agreement with Iran."
The US will give "modest relief" on sanctions against Iran as the country fulfils its commitments under the deal, Obama said. However, Washington "will move to increase our sanctions" if Tehran does not follow through, he added.
Earlier this week, senior officials from the EU and Iran met in Geneva to iron out remaining differences regarding the implementation of the November 24 deal.
Under the agreement signed in Geneva, Iran vowed to curb its most sensitive nuclear activities. In return, the country will be allowed access to $4.2 billion in funds frozen as part of the financial sanctions imposed on the country over suspicions that its nuclear program is aimed at producing an atomic bomb.
The Geneva accord will last for six months, during which time international negotiators hope a final, more comprehensive agreement can be agreed that will wind down much of the Iranian nuclear program and govern its scope to ensure it can only be used for peaceful purposes.
Throughout the long-running dispute over the program, Tehran has maintained that it has right to atomic energy and its program is purely peaceful.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was among the negotiators, said in November that the deal was a win-win situation for everyone. He added that it only became possible after Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, came to power in 2013.
President Vladimir Putin described the Geneva accord "as a balanced list of measures and it will certainly have a positive influence on the development of the international situation."
