1st LD Writethru: EU, Iran announce nuclear deal implementation, sanctions lifted
Xinhua, January 17, 2016 Adjust font size:
The European Union (EU) and Iran on Saturday night jointly announced the implementation day of the historic nuclear deal after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed all the preparation steps required have been completed by Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini jointly made an announcement of the implementation day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the historic nuclear deal reached last July, after the UN nuclear agency's confirmation of Iran's compliance of its commitment under the deal.
Verified and confirmed by the UN nuclear agency, the steps Iran completed according to the deal could trigger a comprehensive relief of the nuclear related sanctions imposed on Tehran.
"Today, I released a report confirming that Iran has completed the necessary preparatory steps to start the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in a statement.
The EU lifted its economic sanctions against Iran after the UN nuclear watchdog's announcement.
"As Iran has fulfilled its commitments, today, multilateral and national economic and financial sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program are lifted," Mogherini said.
Shortly after the IAEA announcement, U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday also signed an executive order to lift sanctions on Iran related to its nuclear program, the White House said. Endit