South East Asian Nations group declares support for Iran nuclear deal

Ministers representing member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) issued a statement on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Acton to rein in Iran's nuclear program, ASEAN said on Thursday.

They were joined by representatives from Australia, the Russian Federation, The U.S. and other countries during the Fifth East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which took place recently in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.

Ministers present at the summit welcomed both the agreement and the recent resolution adopted by the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council, which signaled its support of the agreement and reaffirmed the commitment of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The ministers said that if this agreement between Iran and members of the international community — signers included the U.S., the U.K., Russia, Germany, France, China and the European Union — is successfully implemented, an international security challenge will be resolved without military action.

The ministers said the agreement will be implemented after verification from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran has taken the necessary steps to modify its nuclear program.

Under the agreement, economic sanctions on Iran will be lifted on the condition that Iran  agrees to severely limit its nuclear capacity to create a nuclear bomb. Under the agreement, Iran agrees to IAEA monitoring of its nuclear activity and reduces uranium stockpiles and enrichment activities.