The United States and other countries formally lifted banking, steel, shipping and other sanctions on Iran, a major oil producer that has been virtually shut out of worldwide markets for the past five years.
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Adding oil to the fire, US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro criticised last Monday Israel’s West Bank settlement policies at what has been described as a high-profile security conference held in Tel Aviv.
The American Iranian Council, lauded the news saying that Iran’s conformance to the laid down nuclear obligations, the nuclear linked sanctions being lifted and now this latest development of a prisoner exchange were the start of a new phase of relations between the two nations.
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called on the Iranian administration and members of the Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of the JCPOA to beware of USA deceits.
“We have deals that are being worked out with Airbus all sorts of companies from nuclear technology companies, to irrigation, green energy… a whole range of them”, he said, without elaborating.
The prisoner exchange and the release of the U.S. war boats provide an important model for the kind of diplomatic engagement that the Iran nuclear deal makes possible.
As early as last August, shortly after the nuclear deal was reached, Rouhani said foreign investors would be welcome only if they hired local workers and shared their technological knowledge, showing the government’s intent to protect the interests of local businesses.
Kyodo news agency reported Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida as telling reporters that the pact will be signed “soon”.
Khamenei, the country’s top decision maker, has praised Iran’s negotiators while continuing to express deep mistrust of the United States.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has repeated Tehran’s criticism of fresh USA sanctions over Iran’s ballistic missile program, calling the sanctions “illegal” and justifying Tehran’s recent missile tests as “self defense”.
The nuclear deal went into effect this weekend.
Many U.S. sanctions on Iran remain in place, notably on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite military force with sprawling business interests and a lot of experience in disguising its assets.
“There can be no meaningful improvement in investment into the Iranian economy until some robust banks agree to raise their head above the parapet and finance it”, said Nigel Kushner, chief executive of W Legal and a director of the British Iranian Chamber of Commerce.
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The following months will see moves toward normalization of Iran’s currency regime and financial system, Seif reportedly said.
