Norway eases sanctions against Iran

Norway said Saturday it would lift a large part of sanctions against Iran after the UN nuclear agency confirmed Tehran's compliance of the historic nuclear deal reached last summer.

"The repeal of a large part of the sanctions against Iran allows the country to become more integrated into the international community, both politically and economically," Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende was quoted as saying in a statement.

"The implementation of this agreement is a significant victory for diplomacy and for joint international efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons while ensuring the country's right to use nuclear energy for civilian purposes," he added.

Norway has followed up all resolutions passed by the UN Security Council on Iran's nuclear programs and has for several years joined all the restrictive measures the European Union (EU) has adopted against Iran.

"We follow up the nuclear agreement and lift large parts of our sanctions and restrictive measures against Iran. I would also emphasize that there will still be limitations on our relationship with Iran, including measures that have been introduced because of the human rights situation in the country," Brende said.

There are also prohibitions or restrictions on exports of goods and technologies in certain sensitive areas and specific measures for some Iranian individuals and companies, according to the statement issued by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.

In addition, the bans on exports of weapons and military equipments are maintained and the general rules on export control of strategic goods and technologies still apply with regard to Iran, the statement said.

The 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. Endit