Iran emerged from the shadow of the United Nations sanctions regime during the weekend after it was confirmed Tehran met the terms of the multilateral nuclear agreement reached in July. The decision came just a day after Washington had lifted a series of painful economic penalties as part of an global deal struck last summer in which Iran promised to roll back its nuclear program.
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The nuclear talks have brought a sense of normalcy to relations with the US and Iran, with top officials from each country in somewhat regular communication. The U.S. also dropped cases against 14 other Iranians it sought to extradite from other countries. The first two being the implementation of the nuclear deal and the freeing of the Americans imprisoned in Iran, including Washington Post reporter correspondent Jason Rezaian, and the third was the settlement of a years-long lawsuit between Iran and the US. The deal also freed four American held in Iranian custody.
In a joint statement with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Vienna, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, representing the six world powers, said that as a result “multilateral and national economic and financial sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear programme are lifted”.
The Obama Administration is trying to play up the growing rapprochement with Iran, with hopes that the nuclear deal will lead to the resolution of more regional disputes.
Hours after each side released prisoners, President Obama on Sunday announced new sanctions on 11 companies and individuals who supply Iran’s ballistic missile system.
“We remain steadfast in opposing Iran’s destabilizing behavior… including its threats against Israel and our Gulf partners, and its support for violent proxies in places like Syria and Yemen”, Obama said.
On Jan. 17 Iran announced that has started implementation of the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). “If they don’t, we will continue to enforce our sanctions and continue to have very strong differences”.
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“My understanding is that money absolutely changed hands and that the money had to be … fully delivered to the Iranians before these three people were let go”, Blunt said Wednesday. A fifth American, student Matthew Trevithick, who was released separately, appears to have left Iran before the others.
