JUST IN: Core of Arak heavy-water nuclear reactor filled with cement in Iran

Iran has removed the core of its Arak heavy-water nuclear reactor and filled it with cement, BBC news cited the Iran’s IRGC official Fars News Agency on Monday, January 11, 2016.
The fate of the reactor was one of the toughest sticking points in Iran’s long nuclear negotiations last year.
Under the terms of the deal, Iran agreed the heavy-water reactor would be reconfigured so it was not capable of yielding material for a nuclear weapon.
The removal of the core is one of the final steps required by the deal.
The negotiations were conducted with the so-called P5+1 – the US, the UK, China, France, Russia, and Germany, and led to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for Iran’s atomic energy agency, told the Etemad newspaper Iran “has met its commitments under the July nuclear agreement earlier than expected”.
Under July’s agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency will decide when Tehran has complied fully with its obligations.