Clearing Misconceptions of the Iran Nuclear Deal

“Iran’s missile program has never been created to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons”, Ansari was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency, according to AFP.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said today there was no direct link between the release of Americans detained in Iran and the lifting of punishing sanctions against Tehran. He said the country will react to the “propagandist and harassing measures by following up on its legal missile program in earnest and further improve the country’s defense capabilities and national security”.

“I express my satisfaction about the resistance of the great Iranian nation against the unfair sanctions”, he said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced in a statement on Saturday that Iran has complied with its obligations in accordance with the nuclear agreement signed in July a year ago. The Obama administration had been under intense pressure from Republicans (and some Democrats) to impose a penalty for Iran’s two ballistic missile tests conducted in 2015.

The remarks capped a 24-hour period that significantly reshaped U.S. relations with Iran.

“This is a good day because, once again, we’re seeing what’s possible with strong American diplomacy”, Obama said at the White House.

This is a clean bill of health certifying that all nuclear activities in Iran are being used for peaceful purposes, and Amano said last year that this could take “years and years”.

Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati and pastor Saeed Abedini were flown from Iran to Switzerland then brought to a U.S. military hospital in Germany, for medical treatment.

President Barack Obama said his government will “vigorously” enforce sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program.

As part of the swap, Obama granted clemency to seven Iranians indicted or imprisoned violating US sanctions against Iran, which he described Sunday as “a one-time gesture to Iran, given the unique opportunity offered by this moment and the larger circumstances at play”.

“The fact of being able to lift the sanctions, the fact of having Iran return to the global scene, is a positive element in the region today”.