Iran Announces Understanding with 5+1 on Sanctions Relief Issues

The Director General of Political Affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced an "understanding" with the 5+1 countries to "resolve some of the remaining issues regarding the lifting of sanctions" and stated that the "countdown" for the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement has begun. According to the state news agency IRNA, Hamid Baidi-Nejad on Sunday, January 20, described the understanding reached in Geneva as a "significant step" towards the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement. He also wrote on his Instagram page that the "countdown" for the implementation day of the Vienna nuclear agreement and the lifting of Western sanctions against Iran has begun. The meeting of expert teams from Iran and the 5+1 group for the "final coordination for the implementation day of the JCPOA" was held on Friday and Saturday in Geneva. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stated last Thursday that if things go well, the Iranian nuclear agreement will likely be implemented in a few days. The nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers was reached on July 14 this year in Vienna, under which Tehran agreed to halt many of its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions by the U.S., the European Union, and the United Nations against Tehran. However, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, controlled by Republicans, approved a draft of the "Iran Terror Financing Transparency Act" on January 7, which gives Congress more oversight over the Vienna nuclear agreement. According to the approved plan, the removal of certain individuals or entities from the sanctions list prepared by the Treasury Department will be conditional upon guarantees from the President, who must inform Congress that these individuals and entities are not involved in Iran's missile programs or terrorist activities. Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, and Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, have accused the U.S. Congress of seeking to "destroy" and "disrupt" the Vienna nuclear agreement. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stated in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani on October 21 that any imposition of sanctions "at any level and for any reason" by negotiating countries during the eight-year period would be considered a violation of the nuclear agreement, and the government is obliged to halt the implementation of this agreement. In recent weeks, some Iranian officials have deemed the travel restrictions to the U.S., the potential for new U.S. sanctions against Iran, and the possible seizure of the Central Bank of Iran's assets in New York as "violations" of the Vienna nuclear agreement. However, officials in Hassan Rouhani's government have stated that these actions are not yet at a stage to be considered violations of the Vienna nuclear agreement and have expressed hope that this agreement will be implemented in January. Government officials hope that after the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement, the country's economic situation will improve. Meanwhile, Gholamali Kamyab, the Deputy for Foreign Exchange at the Central Bank, stated on Sunday that the bank has negotiated with "export credit insurance institutions from various countries" and "various banks" for cooperation after the Vienna nuclear agreement. He noted that reducing transfer costs and foreign payments and connecting Iranian banks to SWIFT are among the effects of the Vienna nuclear agreement. Kamyab announced that 14 Iranian banks have connected to SWIFT and five banks are in the final stages of connecting to SWIFT. Following the intensification of international sanctions against Iran, the connection of Iranian banks to the SWIFT network, which plays a significant role in international electronic payments, had been severed.