Iran’s foreign minister arrived in Vienna saying he was confident the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog would certify that his country was complying with the terms of a deal to restrict its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some worldwide economic sanctions.
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Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano also said on the same day that Iran had taken the “necessary preparatory steps to start the implementation of” the JCPOA.
Vahid Salemi/AP The end of Iranian sanctions could see the country recoup some $100 billion in assets frozen overseas and see huge benefits from new oil, trade and financial opportunitie.
Rouhani, who has made finalizing the nuclear deal the key issue of his presidency, also said that the agreement “does not harm any country”.
His statement came just hours after Tehran and Washington swapped long-held prisoners. A fifth American detained in Iran, a student, was also released in an unrelated move.
The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, said the IAEA’s verification ended seven current Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions against Iran.
Commending the “dedication and determination” shown on all sides, Mr. Ban encouraged the parties to continue to implement the JCPOA in the months and years ahead.
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond reverberated Kerry’s commentary, stating the allot “Makes the Mideast and the wider world a safer place”.
“A new chapter opened in relations with [the] world”, Rouhani’s message read.
Together, the lifting of sanctions and the prisoner deal help to ease the hostility between Tehran and Washington that has shaped the Middle East since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
They stated that as a result “multilateral and national economic and financial sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear programme are lifted”.
It is also a crowning achievement for Mr Rouhani, a pragmatic cleric elected in 2013 in a landslide on a promise to reduce Iran’s global isolation.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed that the IAEA has verified Iran compliance with nuclear deal.
Mr Netanyahu’s harsh opposition to the accord, including in a speech to the US Congress, led to troubled ties with the United States, Israel’s most important ally.
Under the nuclear deal, finalized in July, Iran is required to take verifiable steps toward dismantling its alleged nuclear weapons program.
“All oppressive sanctions imposed against Iran will be annulled today”, Zarif said on Iranian state TV.
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EU High Representative Federica Mogherini (left) and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif announce the implementation of the Iranian nuclear deal on January 16, 2016.
