West begins process to end sanctions against Iran

IRAN'S RESPONSES

Iran has responded positively and voiced the hope that some of those sanctions can be lifted this year.

Iranian nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi said Monday he expects sanctions to be lifted by the end of the year on the condition Iran fully implements its nuclear-related commitments made in a landmark nuclear deal adopted on Sunday.

Araqchi acknowledged after meeting here with his counterparts from P5+1, namely the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany, that the large task of dismantling centrifuges, a key point of the deal, had not yet begun.

He told reporters the green-light to begin the process would first be required from the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), something he expected would happen soon.

The exact time for implementing the measures by Iran relating to the JCPOA has not been decided so far, and it will be determined by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, AEOI head Ali-Akbar Salehi said on Sunday.

However, the United States has said it expected Iran would take longer than two months for it to meet its side of the agreement, and for the IAEA to verify its compliance.

Similarly, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he expected EU sanctions against Tehran to remain in place until at least January.

Since 2006, the UN Security Council has adopted a number of resolutions requiring Iran to stop enriching uranium with nuclear proliferation purposes. These resolutions have been progressively accompanied by restrictive measures to persuade Iran to comply.

In addition to implementing UN sanctions, during the past decade the EU has imposed a wide range of autonomous economic and financial sanctions on Iran, including a prohibition to export arms to Iran, dual-use goods and goods which could be used in enrichment-related activities, a prohibition to import crude oil, natural gas, petrochemical and petroleum products, freezing the assets of the Central Bank of Iran and major Iranian commercial banks, preventing access to EU airports of Iranian cargo flights, and travel restrictions and asset freezes imposed against other listed persons and entities.

Since January 2014, some of the EU sanctions against Iran have been suspended. This was done as part of the implementation of the interim agreement known as the Joint Plan of Action in November 2013.