Sceptics of Iran nuclear deal ‘all proven wrong’, says president Rouhani

A special USA presidential envoy has tweeted a photo of Jason Rezaian after the American journalist landed in Geneva following his release by Iran. Republican candidates for the USA presidency have criticized the deal, and some Iranian officials fear Washington could walk away from the deal when President Barack Obama leaves office in early 2017. A fifth American, Matthew Trevithick, was also freed from an Iranian prison, according to reports.

Just hours before Obama’s final State of the Union address, Iran seized two U.S. Navy boats and 10 sailors who had drifted into the country’s territorial waters.

“We remain steadfast in opposing Iran’s destabilizing behavior… including its threats against Israel and our Gulf partners, and its support for violent proxies in places like Syria and Yemen”, Obama said.

Rouhani, speaking at a news conference in Tehran some 90 minutes before the new USA measures were announced, was asked what would happen if the United States imposed new sanctions or violated terms of the nuclear agreement.

And as a result, the United States is imposing sanctions on individuals and companies working to advance Iran’s ballistic missile program.

The Treasury Department made the announcement in a statement issued on Sunday, only a day after sanctions targeting Iran’s nuclear energy program were lifted.

“We will continue to enforce these sanctions vigorously”, Obama said referring to the ballistic missile tests. The Iranians also get $1.3 billion in interest. “The Iranian government should begin taking steps immediately to improve its press freedom record by releasing all journalists imprisoned in relation to their work”. “This showed that those who used to say, “do not believe” were mistaken”, he said, stressing the deal would now make it easier for Iranian businesses to operate after years of being frozen out of the global financial system.