The United States, the European Union and the United Nations are lifting the sanctions that barred Iran from the global financial system for years, after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certified on Saturday that Tehran was complying with the agreement to curb its nuclear programme.
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Fresh U.S. sanctions over Iran’s ballistic missile program showed Sunday that Tehran has worked closely with North Korea to move its missile program forward.
He added that Iran would respond by “accelerating its legal ballistic missile program and boosting defence capabilities”. A day before the American administration was scheduled to impose sanctions, the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned his United States counterpart John Kerry that this step could hamper a prisoner exchange agreement which was negotiated by the two sides secretly for months.
He also said Saturday marked a “milestone” in making sure Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon.
American writer and researcher Matt Trevithick was released separately from the prisoner swap, and has reportedly left Iran.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s missile industry is completely indigenous and based on local knowledge and expertise… and imposing sanctions on individuals or companies has no impact on the development of the industry”, he noted. “And we are going to remain vigilant about it”, Obama said.
President Barack Obama heralded the implementation of the nuclear deal with Iran, saying he was hopeful the “good day” signalled an opportunity for Iran to work more co-operatively with the rest of the world. “We’ll know if Iran ever tries to break out”.
Iran and the United States also clinched a deal to release four Iranian Americans who had been detained in Iran and seven Iranians who had been held in the United States.
Those released were Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter imprisoned since July 2014, pastor Saeed Abedini and former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati. Thursday’s report by the semi-official Fars news agency says the missiles were tested during an army exercise in central Iran.
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They include slashing by two-thirds its uranium centrifuges, reducing its stockpile of uranium – enough before the deal for several bombs – and removing the core of its Arak reactor, which could have given Iran weapons-grade plutonium. A part of the deal involved the USA dropping charges on a few Iranians who were held in the country because of sanctions violations.
