In a dramatic move which coincided with the scrapping of the sanctions, Tehran also announced the release of five Americans including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian as part of a prisoner swap with the United States.
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Kerry also confirmed a report by The Washington Post that the flight out of Iran of Rezaian and two of the other Americans was delayed because of a mix-up over the fate of Rezaian’s wife Yeganeh.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation, said that “we want to shorten this period and this is possible with the help of the Agency”, the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying on Monday.
Iran said Saturday that four Iranian dual nationals had been freed as part of a prisoner exchange in line with national interests at the order of the country’s top security committee.
The lifting of sanctions and the prisoner deal considerably reduce the hostility between Tehran and Washington that has shaped the Middle East since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979. The U.S. Treasury Department on Sunday announced sanctions against 11 companies and individuals for their ties to Iran’s ballistic-missile program.
A US official said the Obama administration wanted to test whether there could be additional cooperation or constructive dialogue between the United States and Iran.
A day after President Obama signed executive actions to lift economic sanctions against Iran, the impact of that deal was reverberating through the local Iranian American community – the largest Iranian diaspora community in the world.
“Relations between Iran and the IAEA now enter a new phase”, said IAEA director general Yukiya Amano.
Iran insists all of its nuclear activities are peaceful.
Rouhani earlier said said Iranians should look forward to a “year of prosperity” after sanctions are lifted.
“Iran is the greatest state sponsor of terror in the world”, Pletka said.
Will the US also release Iranians in custody?
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According to the president, Iran will now give priority status to some countries for trade and investment in acknowledgement of their support during tough times when the West had imposed economic and military sanctions on it.
