US to pay Iran $1.7 billion in legal settlement

“The U.S. sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile programme… have no legal or moral legitimacy”, foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said in a televised news conference.

Iran said on Monday new U.S. sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile programme were illegitimate because of Washington’s arms sales in the Middle East.

“And we are going to remain vigilant about it. We’re not going to waver in the defense of our security or that of our allies and partners”, Obama said in a televised statement on Sunday morning from the White House.

“When Americans are freed and returned to their families, that’s something we can all celebrate”, Obama said.

The implementation of the nuclear agreement was accompanied by the release of four U.S.-Iranian prisoners held in Iran, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, and a number of Iranians from U.S. custody, signaling a further thaw in ties.

The steps Iran completed Saturday to curtail its nuclear program were part of an agreement struck this summer with the USA and other world powers.

Under the agreement, Iran moved nearly all of its nuclear fuel out of the country, destroyed and removed its nuclear equipment and gave global inspectors greater access to its nuclear facilities.

He also said a settlement between the United States and Iran at The Hague, in which Iran received $400 million in funds frozen since 1981 plus $1.3 billion in interest, would save U.S. money.

Neither US nor Swiss officials had explicitly named those on board the plane, but McGurk’s tweet confirmed reports that the three freed prisoners were Rezaian, Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor, and former US Marine Amir Hekmati.

Iran meanwhile remains a staunch backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, putting it at odds with the USA and Sunni Arab powers including Saudi Arabia, even as it shares the West’s interest in defeating the Islamic State group. “Each and every day, and especially today, our hearts are with the Levinson family and we will not rest until their family is whole again”, Mr. Obama said.

“Within the past several years, Iranian missile technicians from SHIG traveled to North Korea to work on an 80-ton rocket booster being developed by the North Korean government”, it said. USA banks are also ordered to freeze any assets the companies or individuals hold inside the American financial system.

“For decades your government’s threats and actions to destabilise the region has isolated Iran from much of the world”.

Mr Rouhani said Iran should use the expected influx of investment to spark the “economic mutation” of the country, creating jobs and enhancing quality of life for Iranians, who have suffered double-digit inflation and unemployment rates for years.

He also said Iran now needs political tranquility to best benefit from the new economic reality. “I’ve seen their anguish – how they ached for their husbands and sons”, Obama said.

The Treasury’s sanctions target to two Iran-linked networks alleged to be involved in developing the country’s missile program and include punitive measures against numerous individuals involved, according to a statement.