Australia, Canada to Lift Anti-Tehran Sanctions

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced that Canberra is to lift its economic sanctions against Iran following the implementation of the nuclear deal finalized by Iran and six world powers in July 2015, known as the JCPOA.

“The Australian government will then move to lift relevant UN and certain autonomous sanctions, including economic sanctions,” Bishop said in a statement, The Australian reported late on Sunday.

“The easing of these sanctions will ensure that Australian business is not disadvantaged in pursuing opportunities in Iran.”

In the meantime, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion welcomed the implementation of the agreement, saying Canada will follow the rest of the international community in dropping its own sanctions against Iran.

At the same time, he said, maintaining sanctions as other countries drop them would put Canadian companies at a disadvantage.

“Then we will be in a situation where Canadians companies will be alone to not have access to the market,” he said, Ottawa Citizen reproted.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) late on Saturday released a statement and confirmed Iran’s commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Shortly after the IAEA announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini announced in a joint statement that the implementation of the agreement has officially been started.