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Swiss lifting of sanctions against Iran officially come into effect

Xinhua, August 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Swiss Federal Council (SFC) has announced that it would lift previously suspended sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, with measures beginning on Thursday.

SEC spokesperson Isabel Herkommer told Xinhua on Thursday that the official lifting of the sanctions comes after the same measures had already been temporarily suspended since January 2014, adding that all other sanctions remain in place.

A statement released by the government on Wednesday stated that this decision mirrors the confederation's "support for the implementation of the nuclear agreement and its interest in deepening bilateral relations with Iran."

The Federal Council further "welcomed the agreement reached by the E3/EU+3 (China, Russia, the U.S., Germany, France and the UK) and Iran to resolve the nuclear dispute," adding that the agreement "opens up new political and economic prospects with Iran, including bilateral relations."

This follows the historic Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) reached in July after a 12-year nuclear dispute had marred relations amid economic and political measures taken against Iran.

Though sanctions had already been suspended in January last year, Switzerland's ban-lifting on precious metals transactions with Iranian state bodies, together with the requirement to report trade in Iranian petrochemical products is seen as a positive step towards trade normalization.

"It also lifted the requirement to report the transport of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products as well as insurance and reinsurance policies taken out in relation to such transactions. In the financial sector, threshold values for reporting and licensing obligations in relation to money transfers from and to Iranian nationals were increased ten-fold," the statement indicated.

These moves reiterate Switzerland's special relations with Iran, which are guided by policies defined as "consistent, neutral and balanced" by the Federal Council.

Switzerland warned however that should the implementation of the JCPA falter, sanctions are likely to be reintroduced by the confederation. Endit