US unfreezes $450mn of Iranian funds

The United States has authorized the release of a $450 million installment of frozen Iranian funds, indicating that Washington is willing to make good on its commitments made last year under an interim nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Sextet.

According to Press TV, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States — plus Germany signed the short-term pact in the Swiss city of Geneva last November to pave the way for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with the Islamic Republic over its nuclear energy program. The deal came into force on January 20.
Under the Geneva agreement, dubbed the Joint Plan of Action, the Sextet agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period.
The US State Department made the announcement of releasing the Iranian funds on Thursday, following a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verifying that Iran was complying with the terms of the pact. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said that “all sides have kept the commitments made” under the agreement. She said that “as Iran remains in line with its commitments,” the US, France, Germany, Britain, China, Russia and the European Union “will continue to uphold our commitments as well.”