TEHRAN: The announcement on Saturday that Iran had satisfied its obligations under a nuclear deal with world powers was expected to pave the way for a new economic reality in the Islamic Republic, free from years of harsh international economic sanctions.
The formal declaration in Vienna marked the official start of the landmark July deal between Tehran and six world powers — the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. In advance of that announcement, Iran and the US conducted a prisoner swap that saw seven Iranians held in America released in exchange for four Iranian prisoners with dual nationalities — including Washington Post bureau chief Jason Rezaian.
“All sides remain firmly convinced that this historic deal is both strong and fair,” said European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, speaking alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. “This is an encouraging and strong message that the international community must keep in mind in our efforts to make the world a safer place.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking separately, said Iran “has kept its word and we shall do the same.” However Kerry emphasized the need for the UN and world powers to remain vigilant in ensuring Iranian compliance going forward.
As the speeches in Vienna were still taking place, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, a strong supporter of the deal, tweeted in celebration: “#ImplementationDay--I thank God for this blessing & bow to the greatness of the patient nation of Iran. Congrats on this glorious victory!“
While some financial issues may take days to figure out, Iran greeted the news with muted celebrations since the Vienna statement didn’t come until well after midnight in Tehran. However celebratory messages circulated on social media.
“Hello to life without sanctions,” said one message shared on the Telegram app and other social messaging apps. Another read: “Thank you Rouhani, Thank you Zarif.”
For Iran, long out in the economic cold over its contested atomic program, implementing the nuclear deal will be a welcome thaw.
More than $30 billion in assets overseas will become immediately available to the Islamic Republic. Iran’s Central Bank Governor, Valiollah Seif, was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying that Iran will not transfer the cash and instead will use it to import the goods it needs. Official Iranian reports have set the total amount of frozen Iranian assets overseas at $100 billion.
A European oil embargo on Iran will end. Already, some 38 million barrels of oil are in Iran’s floating reserves, ready to enter the market, according to the International Energy Agency.
All that means even more money coming into the country, allowing it to undertake needed repairs to its oil and gas fields to boost its own production. Iran is home to the world’s fourth-largest proven reserve of crude oil and ranks second in proven natural gas reserves behind Russia.
Tehran already seems to be making plans for its post-sanctions economy and infrastructure. Transport Minister Abbas Akhondi told the official IRNA news agency Saturday that his government had agreed to buy 114 new planes from the European consortium Airbus. Iran is looking to buy up to 400 new planes to replace its aging commercial fleet — some of which has been grounded due to a lack of spare parts.
Sizeable financial challenges will remain for Iran, a country in which ATMs don’t link to the global banking system and restaurants can’t accept foreign credit cards. Local banks remain lumbered with bad debt, inflation is still high and unemployment stands around 10 percent.
The International Monetary Fund in October noted that some businesses and consumers were putting off major purchases in hopes of getting higher-quality foreign goods when sanctions end. This delayed spending is dragging down domestic growth, but could amplify the economic boost delivered by the sanctions lifting.
Meanwhile, the global economy is still staggering after the Great Recession and oil is selling at around $30 a barrel, a 12-year low already affecting Iran’s oil-producing neighbors in the Gulf. Any new Iranian supply to the market is likely to keep oil prices down.
“In terms of the global backdrop, Iran’s reintegration could hardly come at a worse time,” an October report by the Dubai-based bank Emirates NBD said. “Ultimately, we still suspect that growth can rebound sharply.”
Under the deal, the United Nations’ arms embargo on the country continues, as do ballistic missile restrictions.
Since July, there has been some hard-line pushback. Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard has launched missiles and shown footage of an underground weapons base in the Islamic Republic, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned against Western influence spreading in the country.
But this week, when US sailors were captured by Iran after straying into its territory, the Islamic Republic let them leave within a day after direct contacts between Kerry and Zarif. The two diplomats formed close ties during the nuclear negotiations.
Kerry said Saturday that the mutual prisoner swap was not formally linked to the nuclear deal, but that it was “accelerated in light of the relationships forged ... in the nuclear talks.”
The deal also could affect Iran’s upcoming parliamentary election in February, further changing the balance of political power in the Islamic Republic. Already, analysts have said they believe it will boost allies of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, whose administration helmed the deal.
But since the deal, there have been a series of legal cases in Iran targeting poets, filmmakers, artists, activists and journalists, which analysts attribute to hard-liners’ continuing struggle with moderates.
Prominent analyst Sadeq Zibakalam said implementation of the nuclear deal has brought a genuine rapprochement between Iran and the West for the first time in nearly four decades.
“It’s the first time, 37 years after Iran’s 1979 revolution, that Iran has succeeded in détente with the West, specifically with the US despite radical and hard-line opponents both inside Iran and America as well as the Israeli lobby and Saudi opposition,” Zibakalam said.
Iran warmly welcomes sanctions’ end, though long thaw ahead
Iran warmly welcomes sanctions’ end, though long thaw ahead
Kurdistan regional government commemorates 37th anniversary of Anfal genocide
- The event paid tribute to the tens of thousands of Kurds who were systematically targeted and killed by the former Iraqi regime during the 1988 Anfal campaign
DUBAI: The Kurdistan Regional Government held a ceremony to mark the 37th anniversary of the Anfal genocide, Iraq state news reported on Monday.
Organized by the Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs, the event paid tribute to the tens of thousands of Kurds who were systematically targeted and killed by the former Iraqi regime during the 1988 Anfal campaign.
Named after the eighth sura of the Qur’an, “Anfal” became a codename for a brutal military operation led by Saddam Hussein’s cousin, Ali Hassan Al-Majid — infamously known as “Chemical Ali.”
Over the course of several months, Iraqi forces conducted mass executions, used chemical weapons, and destroyed more than 2,000 Kurdish villages. Entire families were arrested, displaced, or disappeared, with many perishing due to disease, malnutrition, or exposure after being forcibly relocated.
Kurdish officials called for continued recognition of the Anfal as an act of genocide and reaffirmed their commitment to preserving its memory for future generations.
EU announces $1.7 billion in new aid for Palestinians
LUXEMBOURG: The European Union on Monday announced a new three-year financial support package for the Palestinians worth up to 1.6 billion euros.
“We are stepping up our support to the Palestinian people. EUR1.6 billion until 2027 will help stabilize the West Bank and Gaza,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X.
Paris denounces Algiers’ order to expel 12 French officials as diplomatic dispute reignites
- Relations between France and Algeria sharply deteriorated last summer when France shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara
PARIS: France’s foreign minister said Monday that Algerian authorities gave 12 French state officials 48 hours to leave the country.
Jean-Noel Barrot denounced the decision, saying it appeared as “a response to the arrest of three Algerian nationals suspected of serious offenses on French soil.”
French counterterrorism prosecutors said the Algerians were arrested Friday and handed preliminary charges of “kidnapping or arbitrary detention … in connection with a terrorist undertaking.” They are allegedly involved in the April 2024 kidnapping of an Algerian influencer, Amir Boukhors, or Amir DZ, a known critic of the Algerian government with 1.1 million followers on TikTok.
An Algerian consular official is among the three arrested, according to French media.
Barrot called on Algerian authorities “to abandon” measures to expel the French officials “who have no connection with the current legal proceedings,” in a written statement.
“If the decision to send back our officials is maintained, we will have no other choice but to respond immediately,” Barrot said.
In an interview with French national news broadcaster France Television, Boukhors said he was abducted in April 2024 in a Paris suburb and released 27 hours later.
He said he saw a car in front of his home, with four people he said were acting like false police officers. Some wore police armbands and put him in handcuffs. They brought him to a remote place in the Paris region. “That’s when I felt and confirmed that they were kidnappers. I had fallen into the trap,” he said.
He was told he would be meeting an Algerian official, which never happened, and was later released, the influencer said.
According to French media, Boukhors lives in France since 2016 and was granted the status of political refugee in 2023.
Relations between France and Algeria sharply deteriorated last summer when France shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara — a disputed territory claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which receives support from Algiers and is based in refugee camps in southeastern Algeria.
Tensions further peaked after Algeria arrested French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is an outspoken critic of Islamism and the Algerian regime, in November. He has since been sentenced to five years in prison.
However, tensions started easing in the past two weeks, following a phone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune during which they both agreed to revive bilateral relations, according to a statement by the Elysee Palace.
Barrot traveled to Algeria earlier this month, a visit meant to show the diplomatic rapprochement between the two countries.
Hamas will free hostages if end to Gaza war guaranteed
- Hamas is engaged in negotiations in Cairo with mediators from Egypt and Qatar
- Senior Hamas official accuses Israel of obstructing progress toward a ceasefire
CAIRO: A senior Hamas official said on Monday that the Palestinian group is prepared to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a “serious prisoner swap” and guarantees that Israel will end the war in Gaza.
Hamas is engaged in negotiations in Cairo with mediators from Egypt and Qatar – two nations working alongside the United States to broker a ceasefire in the besieged territory.
“We are ready to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a serious prisoner swap deal, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid,” Taher Al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, said.
However, he accused Israel of obstructing progress toward a ceasefire.
“The issue is not the number of captives,” Nunu said, “but rather that the occupation is reneging on its commitments, blocking the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and continuing the war.”
“Hamas has therefore stressed the need for guarantees to compel the occupation (Israel) to uphold the agreement,” he added.
Israeli news website Ynet reported on Monday that a new proposal had been put to Hamas.
Under the deal, the group would release 10 living hostages in exchange for US guarantees that Israel would enter negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire.
The first phase of the ceasefire, which began on January 19 and included multiple hostage-prisoner exchanges, lasted two months before disintegrating.
Efforts toward a new truce have stalled, reportedly over disputes regarding the number of hostages to be released by Hamas.
Meanwhile, Nunu said that Hamas would not disarm, a key condition that Israel has set for ending the war.
“The weapons of the resistance are not up for negotiation,” Nunu said.
The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Gaza’s health ministry said on Sunday that at least 1,574 Palestinians had been killed since March 18, when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,944.
Iran FM to head to Moscow, discuss US nuclear talks
- The negotiations came weeks after US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for nuclear talks
Tehran: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to visit Moscow this week to discuss recent nuclear negotiations with the United States held in Oman, the foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday, ahead of a new round of talks planned for Rome.
On Saturday, Araghchi held talks with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Muscat, the highest-level Iranian-US nuclear negotiations since the collapse of a 2015 accord.
“Dr. Araghchi will travel to Moscow at the end of the week,” said spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, adding that the trip was “pre-planned” and would be “an opportunity to discuss the latest developments related to the Muscat talks.”
Iran and the United States separately described Saturday’s discussions as “constructive.”
The negotiations came weeks after US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for nuclear talks while warning of possible military action if Tehran refused.
Russia, a close ally of Iran, and China have held discussions with Iran in recent weeks over its nuclear program.
Moscow welcomed the Iran-US talks as it pushed for a diplomatic solution and warned that military confrontation would be a “global catastrophe.”
Another round of talks between Iran and the United States is scheduled for Saturday, April 19.
Iran has yet to confirm the location but the Dutch foreign minister and diplomatic sources said that the upcoming discussions would be held in the Italian capital.
The official IRNA news agency reported that they would be held in Europe, without elaborating.
Baqaei said the next set of talks would continue to be indirect with Omani mediation, adding that direct talks were “not effective” and “not useful.”
He had previously said that the only focus of the upcoming talks would be “the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions,” and that Iran “will not have any talks with the American side on any other issue.”
Late Sunday, IRNA reported that Tehran’s regional influence and its missile capabilities were among its “red lines” in the talks.
In 2018, during Trump’s first term in office, Washington withdrew from the 2015 agreement and reinstated biting sanctions on Tehran.
Iran continued to adhere to the agreement for a year after Trump’s withdrawal but later began rolling back its compliance.
Iran has consistently denied that it is seeking nuclear weapons.
Baqaei reiterated that Iran would host United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi in the coming days but noted that the details of his trip were still “to be decided on.”
In a post on X, Grossi confirmed that he would be heading to Tehran “later this week.”
“Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed,” he said.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency last visited Iran in November when he held talks with top officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian.
In its latest quarterly report in February, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms (605 pounds) of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, which far exceeds the 3.67 percent limit set under the 2015 deal and is much closer to the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.
