US appoints coordinator for Iran nuclear agreement

US Secretary of State John Kerry has appointed former ambassador Stephen Mull as the lead American coordinator for implementing the Iran nuclear agreement, noting that Mull is a former ambassador to Poland and that he has practical experience in the nuclear and sanctions fields.

In his statement, Kerry added: “Steve will lead the inter-agency effort to ensure that the nuclear steps Iran committed to in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action are fully implemented and verified, and that we and our partners are taking reciprocal action on sanctions, following the nuclear steps.”

Under the agreement reached in July, the sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and the United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing to long-term restrictions on its nuclear programme which the West believes it is using to manufacture a nuclear bomb.

The deal also requires Iran, which has denied that it seeks to have nuclear weapons, to stop operating most of its centrifuges which have been used for over a decade to enrich uranium, as well as sharply reduce its low-enriched uranium stockpile.

Kerry also listed Mull’s previous experience included working on issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme and helping the UN Security Council design resolution 1929 which imposed additional nuclear-related sanctions on Iran.

With this, the US administration has officially started implementing the nuclear deal with Iran.