WarSclerotic

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran and six world powers have agreed on how to implement a nuclear deal struck in November, with its terms starting from January 20, the Islamic Republic’s official state news agency reported Sunday.

The report from IRNA quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi confirming the news, without offering any other details. There was no immediate confirmation from the other countries involved in the talks, though the semi-official ISNA news agency said a joint statement on the agreement would be released in Geneva and Tehran.

The announcement comes after Araqchi said Friday that an initial agreement had been reached and all sides would respond to it by Sunday.

US President Barack Obama hailed the agreement to implement the deal as a step to “advance our goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

“With today’s agreement, we have made concrete progress,” he said in a statement. “I welcome this important step forward, and we will now focus on the critical work of pursuing a comprehensive resolution that addresses our concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.  I have no illusions about how hard it will be to achieve this objective, but for the sake of our national security and the peace and security of the world, now is the time to give diplomacy a chance to succeed.”

British Foreign Minister William Hague wrote on Twitter that the sides had come together to set a date for implementation.

Under the November agreement, Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment to 5 percent — the grade commonly used to power reactors. The deal also commits Iran to stop producing 20 percent enriched uranium — which is only a technical step away from weapons-grade material — and to neutralize its 20 percent stockpile.

In exchange, economic sanctions Iran faces would be eased for a period of six months. During that time, the world powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — would continue negotiations with Iran on a permanent deal.

The West fears Iran’s nuclear program could allow it to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes, such as medical research and power generation. ISNA also reported Sunday that under the terms of the deal, Iran will guarantee that it won’t try to attain nuclear arms “under any circumstance.”