The Leader Call:
The nuclear deal saw an end to years of painful economic sanctions on Iran but Washington on Sunday announced new financial measures against Tehran’s ballistic missile program.
“The missile programme has never been created to carry nuclear weapons. We are pleased to see that Iran released four other Americans, and our hope is that those who remain held will soon follow.” said Frederick J. Ryan in a statement released on Sunday.
Hardline newspapers Kayhan and Vatan-e-Emrooz splashed the news on their front pages, crowding out a triumphal speech by President Hassan Rouhani, who on Sunday hailed the lifting of the nuclear sanctions.
“This is a good day”, the president said.
“We’re not going to waver in the defense of our security or that of our allies and partners”, Obama said yesterday while announcing sanctions against 11 individuals and entities as a result of an Iranian ballistic missile launch in October.
Preparing for taking the measures under the JCPOA needs coordination with Iranian officials, which made the visit of the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano to Tehran necessary, Bayat said.
“We Iranians have reached out to the world… have opened a new chapter in the relations of Iran with the world”, the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.
On July 14, 2015, China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain, the United States and the European Union signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran.
On Saturday, the Obama administration lifted economic penalties against the Islamic Republic following the full implementation of a historic nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers.
“On the sidelines of the nuclear negotiations, our diplomats at the highest level, including Secretary Kerry, used every meeting to push Iran to release our Americans”, the president added.
The seven Iranians released from American prison were either convicted or accused of purposely violating USA sanctions against Tehran.
The nuclear deal removed restrictions that stifled Iran’s economy for most of this decade – on banking, money transfers, insurance, trade, transport and procurement of technology.
These steps, combined with tighter IAEA inspections, extend to at least one year – from just a few months previously – how long Iran would need to make enough fissile material for one nuclear bomb.
