European Union Announces Termination of Iran Sanctions
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The European Union on Sunday published legal acts that open the way for the bloc to lift sanctions after Tehran meets the conditions tied to a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.
The legal acts have no immediate effect but cement a process agreed between six world powers and Iran in July to lift sanctions in return for Iran accepting curbs its nuclear program.
The United Nations endorsed the agreement on July 20.
Earlier, Germany's foreign minister had said sanctions against Iran were likely to remain in place until at least January as world powers wait to see whether Tehran sticks to its commitments under the deal.
The legal acts mean that, as soon as Iran implements the terms of the deal, the sanctions can be lifted without changes to what has already been agreed, Reuters reported.
The final decision to lift sanctions, based on the IAEA's go-ahead, is likely to be made by a council of European ministers.
Last week, the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had given it the information it needed to assess whether Tehran's past activities had anything to do with nuclear weapons, a condition that was part of the deal.
