Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani has described the lifting of sanctions against his country as a beginning of new chapter in the relations of the Islamic Republic with the world.
On Saturday, representatives from US, Iran and the EU met in Vienna to announce the lifting of sanctions against Iran.
This was after the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said that Iran had met the conditions set under the nuclear deal signed with P5+1 countries (permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) last year.
What will Iran do with new cash
Iran’s official news agency Irna quoted its transport minister as saying that a deal had been struck with the Airbus consortium in Europe to buy 114 new passenger planes.
The deal includes a mix of new and used jets from the A320 and A340 families.
That will allow Iran to purchase the much needed aircraft to renew its aging fleet, feed domestic demand at its 50 airports and expand international flying.
Iran’s frozen cash of $100 billion will also be released now that sanctions are lifted allowing it to investment them in Europe and become a key player outside the country once again.
Iran will once again start exporting its oil for cash as it was barred from receiving money for oil during the sanctions period.
There are also reports that Iran could use a portion of its new cash to fund proxy militia groups such as Hizbollah and militant Shia groups in Iraquestion against Israel and Islamic State respectively.
IAEA Director General’s statement that sealed the deal for Iran
Today, I released a report confirming that Iran has completed the necessary preparatory steps to start the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The report was submitted to the IAEA Board of Governors and to the United Nations Security Council.
It was issued after Agency inspectors on the ground verified that Iran has carried out all measures required under the JCPOA to enable Implementation Day to occur.
This paves the way for the IAEA to begin verifying and monitoring Iran’s nuclear-related commitments under the agreement, as requested by the U.N. Security Council and authorised by the IAEA Board.
Relations between Iran and the IAEA now enter a new phase. It is an important day for the international community. I congratulate all those who helped make it a reality, especially the group of countries known as the E3/EU+3, Iran and the IAEA Board.
In line with its commitments, Iran will start to provisionally implement the Additional Protocol to its Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA. Together with other nuclear-related measures under the JCPOA, this increases the Agency’s ability to monitor nuclear activities in Iran and to verify that they are peaceful.
We have come a long way since the IAEA first started considering the Iran nuclear issue in 2003. A lot of work has gone into getting us here, and implementation of this agreement will require a similar effort. For our part, we are ready to get on with the job.