VIENNA, Austria: The Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif has said that all sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic for its nuclear program will be annulled on Saturday (today) as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed last year is about to be implemented as expected.
On July 14, 2015, Iran and six world powers including the United States, UK, Russia, China, France, and Germany signed the JCPOA, a comprehensive nuclear agreement under which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for relief from the sanctions.
“Today, with the submission of the report by the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the JCPOA will in fact become implemented, and after that, a joint statement… will be read out to announce the implementation,” Zarif was quoted as saying by Press TV while talking to reporters on arrival in Vienna in reference to the JCPOA.
“We think that the implementation of the JCPOA is not only a very good opportunity for the Iranian people by which all the oppressive Security Council sanctions, all the resolutions of the IAEA Board of Governors will end and officially be annulled, but all the oppressive sanctions that have been imposed over the nuclear issue against the Islamic Republic will God willing be annulled today… and this is a very good day for the Iranian people,” Zarif said.
“But, besides, we believe that this is a very good day for the region; our region will be relieved of the shadow of an unnecessary conflict that could have caused worry for this region,” he said.
#ImplementationDay, it’s now time for all—especially Muslim nations—to join hands and rid the world of violent extremism. Iran is ready.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 16, 2016
During his stay in Vienna, Javad Zarif will meet the US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini on the implementation of the nuclear agreement.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to announce that Iran has honored its commitments under the JCPOA, which will eventually lead to the lifting of sanctions against Tehran.
Obama lifts ban on export of aircraft to Iran
Meanwhile, the US Barack Obama has lifted a decade-old ban on the export of civilian passenger aircraft to Iran as Tehran prepares to see sanctions relief.
The US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said that the decision would take effect as soon as the nuclear agreement is implemented and international sanctions are lifted on Iran.
