Iran and the European Commission have signed the first-ever project for nuclear safety cooperation within the framework of a landmark nuclear agreement signed between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of countries.

The commission said on Tuesday that the €2.5 million project is aimed at improving the capabilities of the Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (INRA) by preparing feasibility study for the Nuclear Safety Center under the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The project will also support the INRA in developing a nuclear regulatory framework, working toward Iran’s accession to several international nuclear conventions, including the Convention on Nuclear Safety, and reviewing the results of the stress test which will take place in Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in southern Iran.

It is the first of a €5 million action approved by the European Union in 2016 under the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation.

A second project for the stress test at the Bushehr nuclear power plant is scheduled to be signed in the coming weeks.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany - signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

The lifting of sanctions against Iran has opened the way for a renewal of broader relations between the Islamic Republic and the European Union.