The announcement of this action comes as the U.S.is imposing new sanction on Iran over ballistic missile testing and just one day after a deal was announced to exchange four imprisoned American citizens for seven Iranians in US detention.
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The UN, the US and the European Union lifting of the sanctions will see unfreeze of Iranian assets worth billions of dollars and allow Tehran to return to the worldwide oil market, the change many expect will move the price of petroleum further downward.
MARTIN: Let’s first talk about the release of those American prisoners.
In addition to Rezaian, the Americans freed Saturday included Saeed Abedini, 35, of Boise, Idaho; Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, 32, of Flint, Mich.; and Khosravi-Roodsari, U.S. and Iranian officials said.
“There was no benefit to the USA dragging this out”, Obama said. A fifth American, student Matthew Trevithick was released independently of the larger swap, and already had headed home.
The US imposed sanctions on 11 companies and individuals on Sunday for supplying Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
Shortly afterward, the three left for a U.S. military base in Germany, arriving there later on Sunday, a U.S. State Department official said.
But Obama said he decided “that a strong confident America could advance our national security by engaging directly with the Iranian government”. The released Americans who wished to leave Iran have now departed the country, according to a senior administration official.
But the agreement also contains significant political risk for a White House that is staking its legacy on Iran’s willingness to comply with unprecedented curbs and extensive monitoring of its nuclear program.
The president pointed out that a priority will be given to countries that continued to trade with Iran despite the economic sanctions.
The pact – which has been repeatedly condemned by the Israeli government as well as by members of Congress from both parties – drew fresh attacks from Republican presidential contenders, some of whom blasted the deal as a sellout to Iran’s clerical rulers. But it’s certainly being challenged by critics, including some who were against the nuclear deal itself, who would say, look, the administration is giving up too much; it’s going to encourage more of our adversaries to take prisoners.
He asserted that Iranian leaders still harbor a desire to build atomic weapons but did not offer evidence to support that claim.
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During a meeting with his cabinet earlier this morning, Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear that Israel would still continue to closely monitor Iran’s activities.
