Nuclear sanctions on Iran to be lifted – Zarif

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the findings of the IAEA inspectors had confounded sceptics who said that Iran would never give up on its nuclear programme.

The United States also will allow imports of Iranian carpets, pistachios, saffron and caviar, and – perhaps most important – it will permit foreign subsidiaries of USA companies, with certain restrictions, to do business in Iran.

The announcement about Iran complying with the deal was also made by International Atomic Energy Agency General Yukiya Amano, who said he is also releasing a report on Iran’s actions.

But Iran’s adversaries in the Middle East are deeply concerned about what Tehran might do with its windfall from the lifting of sanctions, particularly the release of frozen assets.

By the autumn of 2013, however, secretary of state John Kerry had met his Iranian counterpart and Barack Obama had called Mr Rouhani in what was the first direct communication between a USA and Iranian president since the 1979 Islamic revolution led to the U.S. embassy hostage taking and a diplomatic freeze.

The United States and the European Union will respond by ending some economic sanctions, with the EU initially providing Iran with far more relief than the United States.

“I thank God for this blessing and bow to the greatness of the patient nation of Iran” – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Twitter.

The detente with Iran is opposed by all of the Republican candidates vying to succeed Obama in presidential elections in November.

Netanyahu’s office says in a statement that Iran has not given up its nuclear ambitions and is a destabilizing force in the Middle East, as well as a supporter of terrorism.

The European Union on Saturday started the process of lifting sanctions on Iran after the bloc’s foreign policy service took note of an IAEA report. “Israel will continue to track and warn of Iran’s negative activity, and will do all that is necessary to preserve its security and protect itself”.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said Iran will attempt to put half a million barrels of oil a day back on the market after sanctions are lifted.

Earlier on Saturday it was announced that the country had released four United States prisoners including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian. The U.S. Treasury Department has detailed guidance on what the lifting of certain sanctions will mean for worldwide trade.

Zarif said the deal between his country and the six world powers would hold, telling Iranian media that all parties would “not allow the outcome of these talks to be wasted”.

The U.S. steps included creation of special licenses enabling U.S. manufacturers to sell civilian aircraft to Iran, which has one of the world’s oldest fleets and is said to need 400 to 600 new planes.