REPORT: Slow progress after lifting of sanctions against Iran; hopes linger

The lifting of international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program has not brought too many changes as Iranians have hoped after a landmark nuclear deal was reached in July last year.

Almost a year has gone by since Jan. 16, also known as the Implementation Day when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared that Iran had fulfilled requirements to limit its nuclear activities, a step that automatically lifted nuclear-related economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations, European Union and United States.

The move freed Iran to export more oil and gain control of roughly 100 billion U.S. dollars in frozen assets, ending a prolonged isolation that has crippled the country's economy.

The deal would also lift restrictions on foreign companies' ability to invest in Iran and restore the country's access to the international banking system, although analysts say it may take years for Iran to see the tangible benefits of these measures.

Iranians had high hopes that the historic deal would usher in a normalization of relations between Iran and the West, end years of international isolation and economic hardship.

 

REUTERS

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