US, EU lift sanctions on Iran, release $100 billion
Iran has taken every step that it committed to take, dating back two full years,†Mr Kerry said.
Washington/Vienna: The US and the EU on Sunday lifted biting oil and financial sanctions on Iran and unblocked about $100 billion of its frozen assets after the UN inspectors concluded that Tehran has complied with a historic deal to curb its nuclear ambitions.
“Today marks the day of a safer world,” US secretary of state John Kerry said in Vienna as International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certified that Iran has fulfilled its promises to world powers under a July 14 deal. “Iran has taken every step that it committed to take, dating back two full years,” Mr Kerry said.
“Today marks the moment the Iran deal has transitioned from ambitious promises on paper to measurable actions in practice,” he said.
The US sanctions-related commitments are now in effect, Mr Kerry said, announcing lifting of crippling sanctions against Iran, which has the fourth largest oil reserves in the world. His statement came just hours after Tehran and Washington swapped long-held prisoners.
Reacting to the developments, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, “We Iranians have reached out to the world in a sign of friendliness, and leaving behind the enmities, suspicions and plots, have opened a new chapter in the relations of Iran with the world.”
“The implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is not a loss for any country,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Mr Rouhani as saying.