Switzerland is the first country to rush ahead and remove the sanctions on Iran.
Switzerland is not waiting for the finalization of the nuclear deal with Iran or its implementation and is removing the financial sanctions it has imposed on the Islamic Republic with the objective of being the first country to so and with financial gains in mind.
Switzerland is lifting some sanctions against Iran in what it calls a sign of support for the agreement between Tehran and world powers over its nuclear program.
The neutral country’s governing Federal Council decided Wednesday to lift a ban on precious metals transactions with Iranian state entities and end requirements to report trade in Iranian petrochemical products and transport of Iranian crude oil, among other measures.
The sanctions already had been suspended in January 2014. The government, which also cited its “interest in deepening bilateral relations with Iran,” said it reserves the right to reimpose them if implementation of the nuclear deal fails.
Other Western countries have yet to lift sanctions against Tehran, pending verification that it is complying with the nuclear deal.
US Sanctions Remain in Place
When asked about the Swiss decision, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Wednesday that the US government was not consulted ahead of time on their move.
He clarified that the US had no plans to remove the sanctions on Iran until the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “verifies that Iran has taken all of its major nuclear-related steps,” and until that occurs, the US intends “to continue aggressively enforcing those sanctions.”
He added that US enforcement of the sanctions means then that if Swiss companies would move ahead to do business with Iran, the US would still prosecute them under secondary sanctions.
By: AP and United with Israel Staff
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