Intl Desk: Iran’s top negotiator says an agreement has been reached with the US to release $12bn in frozen funds.
The US Treasury Department announces a temporary easing of sanctions to allow the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemicals until August 1.
US says the decision follows Iran’s commitment to allow international nuclear inspections, after 18 hours of intensive negotiations in Switzerland.
US President Donald Trump says any released Iranian assets will be used to buy US produce, but Iran’s Central Bank has rejected the comments, saying Tehran is not obliged to buy agricultural products from the US.
In 1979, after Iranian students stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took diplomats hostage, Washington imposes its first sanctions on Tehran, banning Iranian imports and freezing $12bn in assets.
In 1984, the US designates Iran a state sponsor of terrorism, and in 1996, the Congress pass a law penalising parties that invest in Iran’s oil sector. But the law is not implemented until 2010 due to European opposition.
In 2006, the UN Security Council imposes its first sanctions on Iran for failing to stop its uranium enrichment programme. The council continues to expand its nuclear-related sanctions in the ensuing years.
In 2012, US sanctions Iran’s central bank, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers. The European Union also agrees to ban imports of Iranian oil.
Iran and world powers sign the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015, and the US and European countries offer sanctions relief.
In 2018, Trump withdraws from the JCPOA and announces a new round of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil and banking sectors.
After returning to office in 2025, Trump expands sanctions on Iran, including to third parties trading with Tehan, such as Chinese “teapot” refineries and shipping companies buying Iranian oil.
Ghalibaf defends decision to hold talks with US
Iran’s top negotiator has responded to critics of the Iranian delegation’s decision to hold talks with the US, saying the group went to Switzerland to stop Israel’s bloodshed in Lebanon.
“In one of the good programes on IRIB, I saw them say that they wished Mehrabad Airport had been closed so the negotiating team wouldn’t go to Switzerland,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X, referring to a segment that aired on the country’s state broadcaster.
“I tell those dear ones: If we hadn’t gone to Switzerland, every moment more blood would have been shed from the Muslims and Shias of Lebanon,” he said.
Source: Al Jazeera
