[JURIST] Iran has been keeping its commitment as part of a preliminary nuclear deal from 2013 barring Iran from expanding nuclear programs during negotiations, according to an UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website] report obtained by the the Associated Press. According to the report, Iran has converted [AP report] over four tons of enriched uranium into oxide as agreed. The converted material would be much more difficult to use in the creation of nuclear arms. US Secretary of State John Kerry [official website] also met with Iran’s foreign minister on Wednesday, and IAEA head Yukiya Amano will meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani [BBC profile] on Thursday to agree on a plan [NYT report] to speak with scientists and investigate places where nuclear-related experiments may have been conducted.

Over the past several years Iran has been subject to numerous sanctions for its contentious nuclear program. The US and France agreed [JURIST report] in March to strengthen nuclear talks with Iran to persuade the nation to restrain its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions. In February, the IAEA condemned [JURIST report] Iran for violating its duties under the Joint Plan of Action, a negotiation between Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia, whereby Iran has agreed to expand its nuclear program peacefully. Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced in December that Iran and the six world powers were set to resume [JURIST report] low-level talks on Iran’s nuclear program in Geneva in January. Iranian leaders have repeatedly claimed [JURIST report] that the developing nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the international community, Israel in particular, worries that Iran’s enrichment program was designed for military purposes.