Nuclear deal with Iran begins on January 20th.
The agreement is expected to last six months, and the six powers hope to use this period to negotiate a final, comprehensive treaty on Iran's nuclear ambitions; "We will ask the IAEA to carry out the necessary monitoring and verification activities related to the nuclear agreement," said the EU's High Representative for International Relations, Catherine Ashton.
Reuters - Six world powers and Iran have agreed to begin implementing a temporary nuclear agreement on January 20, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, said in a statement on Sunday.
Ashton represents six countries -- the United States, Russia, China, France, Great Britain, and Germany -- in diplomatic contacts with Iran related to the nuclear impasse.
She said that nations will now ask the UN's atomic energy body to implement the agreement.
"We will ask the IAEA to carry out the necessary monitoring and verification activities related to the nuclear agreement," she said.
The Iranian government has confirmed the date on which the agreement will be implemented.
Under the agreement signed on November 24, Iran promised to limit its most sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for some relief from Western economic sanctions.
The agreement is expected to last six months, and the six powers hope to use this period to negotiate a final, comprehensive treaty on Iran's nuclear ambitions.
US President Barack Obama celebrated the agreement with Iran, but said on Sunday that more is needed for a long-term pact.
He reiterated that he will veto any law that establishes new sanctions during negotiations for a long-term agreement with Iran.
According to Obama, implementing the agreement will give Iran a "modest relief" from economic sanctions.
Western powers suspect that Iran has been seeking to develop the capacity to create a nuclear weapon. But Iran maintains that the program is solely aimed at generating electricity.
IAEA monitoring can be controversial in the Islamic Republic.
In the past, Tehran has accused the Vienna-based IAEA of acting as an intelligence agency manipulated by the West.
But relations have improved since June 2013, when Hassan Rouhani, a relatively moderate politician, was elected president, paving the way for a diplomatic rapprochement with the West.
(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; with additional reporting by Roberta Rampton in Washington)