Rouhani calls IAEA resolution "great success" for Iranians

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said here Wednesday that the recent resolution adopted by the UN nuclear agency to conclude probes into Iran's alleged nuclear activities was "a great success for Iranians."

The resolution, by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was "not only a legal and technical success... but a political and ethical success" since it proved to the world that Iran had not been after the nuclear arms in its nuclear program over the past years, Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on national TV.

Board members of the IAEA on Tuesday adopted a resolution to close the investigation into Tehran's alleged nuclear activities after 12 years.

Upon receipt by the board members of the IAEA report which verified Iran's implementation of its relevant commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the probe into Tehran's past suspected nuclear activities would be finished, according to the resolution.

Rouhani said the latest success is also the result of "resistance and patience" of the Iranians over the issue and of the negotiations with the P5+1 group as well as the interaction with the wider world.

With the IAEA resolution, one of the major barriers for the implementation of the JCPOA, reached on July 14 in the Austrian capital of Vienna, was removed, he said.

"The ground is almost ready for implementing the JCPOA," Rouhani said.

Over the past months, both Iran and the powers have taken big steps to make the JCPOA practical, and the remaining measures will hopefully be completed by both sides in the coming weeks, he said.

Iran expects the international and Western sanctions against the country to be lifted in January, Rouhani said. "We should prepare ourselves for economic growth."

Under the July 14 deal, Tehran should significantly scale back its atomic plan to address Western countries' concerns over the alleged nuclear weapons program, while the IAEA was asked to monitor the process. Endit