Today, on 14 July 2015, China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, US, EU, and Iran (the E3+3), agreed on a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Pursuant to the plan, all UN Security Council sanctions as well as multilateral and national sanctions relating to Iran’s nuclear programme, including steps on access in areas of trade, technology, finance and energy” against Iran will ultimately be lifted. In exchange, Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.
The Execution Plan
The lifting of the sanctions will be executed as follows:
- The UN Security Council resolution endorsing this JCPOA will terminate all provisions of previous UN Security Council resolutions on the Iranian nuclear issue, subject to the possibility to re-impose the sanctions in case of significant non-performance by Iran of the JCPOA commitments.
- The EU and the US will terminate all provisions of nuclear sanctions against Iran as listed in Annex II of the JCPOA. The EU will thus adopt a Regulation terminating all of its Iranian nuclear sanctions.
- Iran and the E3/EU+3 will implement their JCPOA commitments according to the sequence specified in Annex V.
The Milestones
The milestones for implementation are as follows:
- Finalisation Day is the date on which negotiations of this JCPOA are concluded among the E3/EU+3 and Iran, to be followed promptly by submission of the resolution endorsing this JCPOA to the UN Security Council for adoption without delay.
- Adoption Day is the date 90 days after the endorsement of this JCPOA by the UN Security Council, or such earlier date as may be determined by mutual consent of the JCPOA participants, at which time this JCPOA and the commitments in this JCPOA come into effect.
- Implementation Day is the date on which, simultaneously with the IAEA report verifying implementation by Iran of the nuclear-related measures described in Sections 15.1. to 15.11 of Annex V.
- Transition Day is the date 8 years after Adoption Day or the date on which the Director General of the IAEA submits a report stating that the IAEA has reached the Broader Conclusion that all nuclear material in Iran remains in peaceful activities, whichever is earlier.
- UN Security Council resolution Termination Day is the date on which the UN Security Council resolution endorsing this JCPOA terminates according to its terms, which is to be 10 years from Adoption Day, provided that the provisions of previous resolutions have not been reinstated.
Meanwhile, no new sanctions will be imposed against Iran by the EU or the US, and the EU has prolonged the suspension of its sanctions until 14 January 2016.
The Effects
We expect this news to lessen the import/export restrictions with Iran. This is probably the best time to start looking into new commercial opportunities with this growing economy.
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