US to lift sanctions on Iran
PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday ordered his government to take steps towards lifting sanctions on Iran, in line with the nuclear deal struck between world powers and Tehran in July.
PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday ordered the US government to take steps towards lifting sanctions on Iran, in line with the nuclear deal struck between world powers and Tehran in July.
Mr Obama’s directive comes 90 days after the United Nations Security Council endorsed the Iran accord. The adoption of the deal means all sides will have to begin implementing the pledges they made three months ago.
For Iran, that means mothballing thousands of centrifuges, eliminating 95% of its enricheduranium stockpile and retrofitting a reactor. The US and Europe will make preparations to lift sanctions, which will only occur once the Iranian measures are in place.
“This is a landmark day for an historic deal,” British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said. “This will ensure that a nuclear weapon remains beyond Iran’s reach, thus creating a safer region while opening opportunities for Iran to re-engage with the international community.”
Two years of negotiations culminated in an agreement that was signed on July 14 in Vienna. The accord ran into fierce opposition in the US Congress, where a Republican bid to scuttle the deal failed, and among hard-line members of Iran’s parliament.
Twelve years after Iran was found concealing some of its nuclear activities, prompting concern it had weapons ambitions, the deal has been described as a victory of diplomacy over the potential use of force.
“You cannot produce trust in the market,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Stein- meier said. “The glaring lack of confidence on both sides forced us to elaborate meticulous mechanisms. We consider the agreement as an opening for further diplomatic endeavours,” he said while urging Iran to take on a constructive role in solving the conflict in Syria.
The agreement has not diffused tensions between Iran and the West. From missile tests to support for Syria’s regime and military co-ordination with Russia, Iran is exerting its power in the volatile region. US allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia have said the nuclear accord will strengthen Iran even more.
Sanctions against Iran probably would be lifted within the first quarter of next year after the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the nation had curtailed its nuclear work, diplomats said last month.
Once the restrictions are removed, relief is expected to fuel economic growth by lowering barriers to Iran’s oil exports and ending the isolation of its banks. Iran has said it will offer about 50 energy projects to investors and plans to boost output by about 2-million barrels a day once the deal is in place.
The Persian Gulf nation, with the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves, pumped 2.8-million barrels a day last month, according to Bloomberg data.
Japan planned to triple its imports of Iranian crude once sanctions were lifted, the Iranian oil ministry’s Shana news agency said, quoting Seyed Mohsen Ghamsari, director of international affairs at National Iranian Oil. Japan would increase purchases to 350,000 barrels a day from 110,000 barrels, the news agency said.
International Atomic Energy Agency monitors last week ended a 12-year investigation into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear past. Inspectors have until December 15 to draft and present a final assessment of their inquiry.
Relief is expected to fuel economic growth by lowering barriers to Iran’s oil exports