In 2016, the AEOI deputy atomic chief Ali Asghar Zarean said China would help to modify the design of Iran’s IR-40 heavy-water reactor, which is under construction at the Arak nuclear facility.
The reconstruction of the Arak heavy-water reactor is a part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal, which Tehran signed with international mediators in July 2015 in return for sanctions easing.
According to the JCPOA, Tehran vowed not to produce weapons-grade plutonium at its Arak facility and not to build new heavy-water reactors for 15 years as part of a mid-2015 deal to curb its nuclear program. Tehran is also committed to keeping its stock of heavy water, used to cool the Arak nuclear reactor, at no more than 130 metric tons.
