Iran's part in US sanctions bypass scheme ready 'this month'

Yahoo – AFP, Jastinder KHERA, March 6, 2019

Iran is attending a "joint commission" in the Austrian capital with representatives from
China, Russia, Britain, Germany and France -- all signatories of the international deal
on Iran's nuclear programme (AFP Photo/JOE KLAMAR)

Vienna (AFP) - Iran hopes to have its part of a new payments vehicle -- devised to allow it to trade with EU firms despite US sanctions -- -- ready within a fortnight, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday.

"We hope it will be before the end of the Iranian calendar year," Araghchi told reporters in Vienna, referring to March 20.

He said that Iran now had a "clearer picture" of how the new vehicle, known as INSTEX -- short for Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges - -- would work and that its managing director would visit Tehran for discussions "very soon".

But he added that only when the mechanism becomes fully operational would Iran be able to assess whether it "can work properly and can produce results, (and) can do payments between Iran and European countries".

Araghchi was in the Austrian capital for a "joint commission" with representatives from China, Russia, Britain, Germany and France -- all signatories of the international deal on Iran's nuclear programme.

INSTEX was launched at the end of January by Britain, France and Germany.

It is seen as key to European Union efforts to preserve the deal struck in 2015 between world powers and Iran over its nuclear programme, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The US was also a signatory but last May President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal and in November imposed sweeping new sanctions on Iran.

Remaining members 'united'

Araghchi said there was "very strong support" for the deal from all participants at the meeting.

He emphasised that Iran expects INSTEX to work "for all goods and commodities, not only humanitarian goods", but that it could start with humanitarian goods "in order to set the patterns for doing business with Iran".

Tehran's deputy foreign miniser Abbas Araghchi (R) and EU External Action Service 

secretary general Helga Schmid at the joint commission on the Iran nuclear deal 

(AFP Photo/JOE KLAMAR)

"Once the patterns are set, then other goods, including sanctioned goods -- and oil of course -- would be added to this mechanism," he added.

"It is late but still a move in the right direction," Araghchi said.

INSTEX, to be registered in France with German governance, will allow Iran to trade with EU companies despite Washington reimposing sanctions after President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 accord.

The EU representative, who chairs the joint commission, said in a statement after the meeting that the EU would continue to support the work to make INSTEX operational "as soon as possible in close coordination with an Iranian corresponding entity which is being established".

Russia's ambassador to Vienna's UN organisations, Mikhail Ulyanov, who was also at the meeting, told AFP the remaining signatories to the deal are "united in the need to save the JCPOA".

"There are some problems, particularly in the economic field but we are aimed at overcoming them as soon as possible," Ulyanov said.

He said the speed with which INSTEX became fully operational was up to Germany, France, Britain and Iran.

But Ulyanov added: "I believe it may take a rather long time, at least a few months; most likely even more."

In February the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency watchdog said Iran was adhering to the terms of the JCPOA, under which Tehran drastically scaled back its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

Washington has urged European signatories to the JCPOA to follow Trump's example and withdraw, but this has been rejected by the Europeans.

EU hits Iran with sanctions after murder plots

France24 – AFP, 8 January 2019

Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok says the Dutch secret service 'has strong indications
 that Iran was involved in the assassinations of two Dutch nationals of Iranian origin'
in 2015 and in 2017

The EU hit Iran's intelligence services with sanctions Tuesday after accusing Tehran of being behind plots to assassinate regime opponents on Dutch, Danish, and French soil.

The move by the 28-nation bloc was announced as the Dutch government said it believed Iran was behind the murders of two dissidents in 2015 and 2017.

"Very encouraging that (the) EU has just agreed on new targeted sanctions against Iran in response to hostile activities and plots being planned and perpetrated in Europe, including Denmark," Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said.

The "EU stands united -- such actions are unacceptable and must have consequences," he tweeted.

Sanctions include the freezing of funds and other financial assets of the Iranian intelligence ministry and individuals, officials said.

Denmark led efforts for sanctions after allegations that Tehran tried to kill three Iranian dissidents on Danish soil.

A manhunt related to the alleged plot against three Iranians suspected of belonging to the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA) led to the shutdown of bridges to Sweden and ferries on September 28.

France last year imposed sanctions on two suspected Iranian agents and others from Iran's ministry of intelligence and security.

The French security services concluded that the head of operations at the Iranian intelligence ministry had ordered a plot to bomb a rally of the People's Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK) opposition group in a suburb of Paris in June last year -- which Tehran strongly denied.

"When the sanctions were announced, the Netherlands, together with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark and Belgium met Iranian authorities," Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said.

The meeting conveyed "serious concerns regarding Iran's probable involvement in these hostile acts on EU territory," Blok said in a letter to the parliament in The Hague, also signed by Interior Minister Kajsa Ollongren.

"Iran is expected to cooperate fully in removing the present concerns and, where necessary aiding in criminal investigations," the letter said.

"If such cooperation is not forthcoming, further sanctions cannot be ruled out," it added.

Nuclear deal

In the past, the EU has trod cautiously on Iran as it sought to save a beleaguered nuclear deal with Tehran after the US withdrew last year and imposed new sanctions.

The Dutch ministers said that at a meeting with Iranian officials "it was emphasised that the measures were not linked" to the Iran nuclear deal.

"Nevertheless, Iran will be held to account for all matters that affect EU and international security interests...," including the assassinations in the Netherlands in 2015 and 2017, the letter said.

Dutch police have previously named the two victims as Ali Motamed, 56, who was killed in the central city of Almere in December 2015, and Ahmad Molla Nissi, 52, murdered in The Hague in November 2017.

Dutch news reports had said Motamed was living in the Netherlands under a false name and is really Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi -- the man behind the largest bomb attack in Iran in 1981.

Nissi was shot dead in The Hague from a moving car, later found to have been stolen from a suburb outside Rotterdam.

Dutch police said Nissi was the chairman of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, a group working for the independence of the Ahwaz area in southwestern Iran.

Last June, the Netherlands expelled two Iranian embassy workers in connection with the murders.

Tehran at the time protested the expulsion as an "unfriendly and destructive move" and threatened to retaliate.

EU announces legal entity to maintain business with Iran

Yahoo – AFP, Shaun TANDON, September 25, 2018

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (r), speaking alongside Iranian Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (l), said a new payment system would be set up to allow
oil companies and businesses to continue trading with Iran (AFP Photo/Stéphanie LECOCQ)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The European Union said Monday its members would set up a payment system to allow oil companies and businesses to continue trading with Iran in a bid to evade sanctions after the US withdrew from a nuclear agreement.

Iran and the European Union announced their defiance towards US President Donald Trump's administration after high-level talks at the United Nations among the remaining members of the accord.

The countries said in a statement that they were determined "to protect the freedom of their economic operators to pursue legitimate business with Iran."

With the United States and the dollar dominating so much of global trade, the statement said the new mechanism would "facilitate payments related to Iran's exports (including oil) and imports, which will assist and reassure economic operators pursuing legitimate business with Iran."

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, speaking at the United Nations alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, said the countries were still working out the technical details.

"In practical terms, this will mean that EU member states will set up a legal entity to facilitate legitimate financial transactions with Iran and this will allow European companies to continue to trade with Iran in accordance with European Union law and could be open to other partners in the world," she told reporters.

She said that the remaining members of the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- would also maintain their commitments to support Iran on civilian nuclear energy.

"The participants recalled that these initiatives are aimed at preserving the JCPOA, which is in the international interest," she said.

Pressure on Iranian economy

In line with findings of UN inspectors, Mogherini reiterated that Iran has been in compliance with the nuclear agreement -- under which Tehran drastically scaled back its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions.

The agreement was sealed in 2015 in a signature achievement for then US president Barack Obama.

Trump pulled out of the agreement in May, describing it as a "disaster" and quickly moving to reimpose sanctions on Iran.

Despite the protests of the European Union, a number of business including French energy giant Total and carmakers Peugeot and Renault as well as Germany's Siemens and Daimler have already suspended operations in Iran for fear of triggering US sanctions.

With Iran's economy already feeling the pinch, US national security adviser John Bolton earlier Monday vowed to impose "maximum pressure" on Tehran, while insisting that Washington was not pushing for regime change.

US Arab allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as Israel have long sought for Washington to work to curtail non-Arab and predominantly Shiite Muslim Iran's influence in the Middle East, including in war-torn Syria.

The EU move comes a day before Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani separately address the UN General Assembly, with the US leader expected to take a hard line on Iran.

#UPDATE European Union says members will set up a payment system to allow oil companies and businesses to continue trading with Iran in a bid to evade sanctions https://t.co/nRjgZ4hKty pic.twitter.com/YToLkgOZph

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 25, 2018

Caspian Sea nations sign landmark deal

Yahoo – AFP, Christopher RICKLETON, August 12, 2018

The Caspian Sea borders Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia and
Turkmenistan (AFP Photo/BEHROUZ MEHRI)

Aktau (Kazakhstan) (AFP) - The leaders of the five states bordering the resource-rich Caspian Sea signed a landmark deal Sunday on the legal status of the inland sea which boasts a wealth of oil and gas reserves and sturgeon.

The leaders of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan signed the agreement on the status of the inland sea, which has been disputed since the collapse of the Soviet Union rendered obsolete agreements between Tehran and Moscow.

The host, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, said before the signing that the leaders were "participants in a historic event."

"We can admit that consensus on the status of the sea was hard to reach and not immediate, the talks lasted more than 20 years and called for a lot of joint efforts from the parties," Nazarbayev said.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whose country was seen as driving the deal, said the convention had "epoch-making significance" and called for more military cooperation between the countries on the Caspian.

Nazarbayev said the convention allows for the construction of underwater oil and gas pipelines as well as setting national quotas for fishing and forbids any foreign military presence.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was quick to hail the clause that prevents non-Caspian countries from deploying military forces.

"The Caspian Sea only belongs to the Caspian states," he said.

Putin also praised this clause, saying it would help "ensure the peaceful status of the Caspian Sea."

National boundaries

The deal provides a means of delimiting national boundaries in the sea whose underground energy resources are estimated at 50 billion barrels of oil and just under 300 trillion cubic feet (8.4 trillion cubic metres) of natural gas.

But Rouhani stressed several times during the summit that these boundaries still need to be worked out between the countries.

Iran, which ended up with the smallest share of the sea under the terms of the convention, is viewed as a potential loser in the deal.

Sunday's summit was the fifth of its kind since 2002 but there have been more than 50 lower-level meetings since the Soviet breakup spawned four new countries on the shores of the Caspian.

The deal goes some way to settling a long-lasting dispute on whether the Caspian is a sea or a lake -- which means it falls under different international laws.

A map of the Caspian Sea locating Aktau, in Kazakhstan, where a deal was 

signed Sunday by surrounding countries which ends decades of dispute over the 

inland sea rich in oil, gas and caviar. (AFP Photo/Valentina BRESCHI)

While the convention refers to the Caspian as a sea, provisions in the agreement give it "a special legal status", Russian deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin told Kommersant daily earlier this week.

The agreement also offers hope for the Caspian's ecological diversity and its depleted stocks of the beluga sturgeon, whose eggs are prized globally as caviar.

While it remains to be seen how the deal will be implemented, the summit in Aktau was another opportunity for Moscow to present itself as a diplomatic deal-maker.

After years of unsuccessful negotiations on the Caspian the Kremlin "gains political kudos for breaking a log-jam," said John Roberts, a non-resident senior fellow at Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center.

Trans-Caspian plan

Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov greeted the deal enthusiastically as his country wants to send gas to markets in Europe via a long-planned Trans-Caspian underwater pipeline.

The project is billed as allowing European countries to ease their dependence on gas from Russia at a time of heightened geopolitical confrontation.

Nevertheless, Iran and Russia could still challenge the pipeline on ecological grounds. They have previously blocked the project, which could cost up to $5 billion to build and would have a projected capacity of 30 billion cubic metres per year.

Kate Mallinson, Associate Fellow for the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, urged caution over the prospects for the pipeline, saying the Aktau deal "is not a legal prerequisite for the construction."

"Neither will a major transport corridor to export Turkmen gas to Europe emerge overnight."

EU vows to block blow of US Iran sanctions

Yahoo – AFP, Danny Kemp with Dana Rysmukhamedova in Astana, May 17, 2018

Iran once again faces US sanctions after Donald Trump's shock decision to quit
the nuclear deal (AFP Photo/STRINGER)

The EU said Thursday it will begin moves to block the effect of US sanctions on Iran as efforts to preserve the nuclear deal with Tehran deepened a transatlantic rift.

The decision came as Russia and China took some of their most concrete moves yet to extend their economic influence in Iran, in the face of renewed US efforts to choke off Tehran.

US President Donald Trump last week controversially pulled Washington out of the 2015 international deal with Iran that placed limits on its nuclear programme in return for easing economic sanctions.

European companies that invested in Iran after the deal are already taking fright, with French energy giant Total warning it could pull out, and Danish shipping giant Maersk and German insurer Allianz also saying they plan to wind down activities there.

After EU leaders discussed Iran at a meeting in Bulgaria, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the bloc would start measures on Friday to ease the effect of the US sanctions on European companies.

"We will begin the 'blocking statute' process, which aims to neutralise the extraterritorial effects of US sanctions in the EU. We must do it and we will do it tomorrow morning at 10:30," Juncker said at the summit in Sofia.

The "blocking statute" is a 1996 regulation originally created to get around Washington's trade embargo on Cuba, which prohibits EU companies and courts from complying with specific foreign sanction laws, and says no foreign court judgments based on these laws have any effect in the European Union.

However, the Cuba row was settled politically, so the blocking regulation's effectiveness was never put to the test, and its value may lie more as a bargaining chip with Washington.

'It's not a joke'

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that one reason for the efforts to prop up the Iran deal is "so that our businesses can remain" in Iran.

The EU leaders pledged at the meeting to keep a united front against Trump, whose decisions to pull out of the Iran deal and to impose trade tariffs on Europe have triggered the worst transatlantic crisis since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

EU President Donald Tusk renewed attacks on Trump at the summit Thursday, suggesting that the US administration was now as unpredictable as Iran's regime.

"The real geopolitical problem is not when you have an unpredictable opponent or enemy, the problem is if your closest friend is unpredictable. It's not a joke now," Tusk told a news conference with Juncker.

Tusk on Wednesday had slammed Trump's "capricious assertiveness", comparing him to Europe's traditional adversaries Russia and China, and saying Trump's approach had left the EU with "no illusions" that it could rely on anyone else.

China, Russia and EU members Britain, France and Germany were also signatories of the Iran nuclear accord, and have said they will stick to the deal if Tehran respects its terms.

Beijing and Moscow have also stepped up efforts to save the deal.

On Thursday, a Russian-led trade bloc signed an interim trade deal with Iran and signalled plans to negotiate a free trade zone.

In the Kazakh capital Astana, the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union trade bloc signed an interim trade deal with Iran that lowers tariffs on hundreds of goods.

Russian firms have less to lose from bucking US sanctions. Many major Russian companies are already operating under tightening US sanctions over Moscow's seizure of Crimea and its role in the Ukraine crisis.

'Reinforce China'

Meanwhile, Iran's oil minister said that Chinese state-owned oil company CNPC was ready to replace Total on a major gas field project in Iran.

Beijing also signalled that it intends to continue "normal and transparent practical cooperation with Iran".

The US says its sanctions apply to any transactions that are conducted in dollars, which are used in most international transactions, in particular in trading of crude oil.

But China has for years been working to increase trade using its currency and in March a yuan-denominated oil contract was launched in Shanghai.

Trump's withdrawal from the deal is now likely to boost China's influence in the region, a European diplomatic source warned.

"The Iran issue will probably reinforce China in the region, because the European businesses that can't take on the cost of difficulties on their American markets will leave an important gap for a power that seems to have no problem with taking their place," the source said.

US, Britain, France, Germany back business with Iran

Yahoo – AFP, 20 May 2016

Foreign banks and private businesses should not hold back from conducting legal
 business with Iran, said the United States, France, Britain and Germany (AFP
Photo/Atta Kenare)

Brussels (AFP) - Foreign banks and businesses should not hold back from conducting legal business with Iran, Western powers said Friday.

In a joint statement released after talks in Brussels, the United States, the European Union, France, Britain and Germany sought to reassure companies that, after the Iran nuclear deal, certain forms of trade are permitted.

"We will not stand in the way of permitted business activity with Iran," the four powers plus the European Union said.

"And we will not stand in the way of international firms or financial institutions engaging with Iran, as long as they follow all applicable laws," they added.

Under the terms of the Iran nuclear deal signed last year and implemented in February, international sanctions aimed at Tehran's nuclear programme have been dropped.

But the United States has maintained its sanctions targeting Tehran's alleged sponsorship of armed movements in the Middle East and its ballistic missile programme.

European banks, which often have subsidiaries on US soil, have therefore been slow to resume business with Iran, fearing prosecution in the United States.

But, a joint statement by the western parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- the implementation side of the Iran deal -- gave business the green light.

"The interest of European and other global firms in Iran is high," the statement said.

"And it is in our interest and the interest of the international community to ensure that the JCPOA works for all participants, including by delivering benefit to the Iranian people," it continued.

"This includes the reengagement of European banks and businesses in Iran."

US Secretary of State John Kerry -- a key architect of the Iran deal -- was in Brussels for a NATO ministers meeting, and held talks on the Iran deal while he was there.

President Barack Obama's administration has been criticised at home for moving too quickly to allow Iran to return to the international fold after agreeing to nuclear controls.

But Tehran's leaders have complained that the deal was oversold, arguing that they upheld their end of the bargain in surrendering most of their nuclear enrichment capacity in return for sanctions relief.

Meanwhile, European banks have been reluctant to renew ties with the Islamic republic, fearing that -- despite the end of some sanctions -- they could fall foul of US law.

"We understand that firms may continue to have specific sanctions-related questions or concerns about doing business in Iran," the statement said.

"And we stand ready to provide expeditious clarifications," it added, encouraging banks and other enterprises to come forward and seek advice as to how to deal legally with Iran.

"We encourage firms to approach our governments to address remaining questions, rather than forgo opportunities due to misperceptions or lack of information."

World Muslim body condemns attacks on Saudi missions in Iran

Yahoo – AFP, January 21, 2016

Secretary General of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Saudi Iyad Ameen
Madani (R) shakes hands with Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during
an emergency meeting in the Saudi city of Jeddah, on January 21, 2016 (AFP Photo)

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - A global Muslim body on Thursday condemned the attacks on Saudi missions in Iran earlier this month and denounced Tehran's regional "interference".

Foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, in a statement, said it "condemns the aggressions against the missions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Tehran and Mashhad".

The statement followed an extraordinary meeting requested by Saudi Arabia after protesters in Iran burned Riyadh's embassy in Tehran and a consulate in the second city of Mashhad.

Such "aggressions" contravene international law as well as the OIC charter, said the communique, which member state Iran rejected.

The violence against Riyadh's missions occurred after the kingdom executed dissident Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, a driving force behind anti-government protests.

Sunni Saudi Arabia and some of its allies cut diplomatic ties with Shiite Iran as a result of the violence against its missions.

Nimr was one of four Shiites put to death on January 2 alongside 43 Sunnis. All were convicted of "terrorism".

The 57-member OIC said it "rejects and condemns Iran's inflammatory statements" over the executions, "considering those statements a blatant interference in the internal affairs" of Saudi Arabia.

It also denounced "Iran's interference in the internal affairs of the states of the region and other member states (including Bahrain, Yemen and Syria and Somalia) and its continued support for terrorism".

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attended the meeting but his country "declared its rejection of the communique," the document said.

It added that Lebanon also "distances itself" from the meeting's final statement.

The OIC calls itself the collective voice of the Muslim world.

Tensions between the leading Sunni and Shiite nations have caused concern around the globe. China, France and Pakistan have all sought a de-escalation.

Iranian protesters set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran during a demonstration 

against the execution of prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi 

authorities, on January 2, 2016 (AFP Photo/Mohammadreza Nadimi)

'Continuous attacks'

At the start of Thursday's meeting, OIC Secretary General Iyad Madani called for "building bridges of understanding and restoring mutual trust" through dialogue.

This will prevent conflicts "that will waste energy and hinder the development of our people," he said.

Tensions between members "distract us from addressing the real challenges", including "terrorism", which threaten members of the organisation, Madani told the group based in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah.

The final communique underscored the "importance of reinforcing relations of good neighbourliness" among members.

Iran sacked a senior security official over his failure to stop the attack on Riyadh's embassy, while Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said the attack was against Islam.

But Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir charged at Thursday's meeting that Iran respects neither Islam nor the charter of the OIC.

"The importance of this meeting is in the fact that this aggression is not the first but only a part of a series of continuous attacks that diplomatic missions have been subjected to in Iran for 35 years," Jubeir said.

"It is important to point out that the aggression against the kingdom's missions comes as part of Iran's aggressive policies and its continuous interference in the internal issues of the countries in the region".

Saudi Arabia and Iran support opposite sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Iran has also consolidated its influence in Iraq and Lebanon.

Riyadh had also called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League after the attack on its missions.

The Cairo-based body on January 10 expressed full support for Saudi Arabia in dealing with the "hostile acts and provocations of Iran".

#UPDATE Iran's return to international stage 'now possible': Hollande https://t.co/VUCefOxkZr pic.twitter.com/LIoQrRldVh

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 21, 2016

EU Parliament chief Schulz: Iran-EU relations at 'key stage'

During a visit to Tehran, European Parliament chief Martin Schulz has said that relations between Iran and the European Union (EU) are at a "determining stage." The comments follow a nuclear deal earlier this year.

Deutsche Welle, 7 Nov 2015

Speaking at a news conference in the Iranian capital on Saturday, Schulz said the Iran and its partners in the nuclear deal were "at the implementation stage of this agreement."

"At the end of this stage a door can be opened for economic cooperation and positive economic development," Schulz said.

The EU announced last month that it had adopted the legal framework to lift sanctions against Iran, once Tehran has curbed its nuclear activities.

The announcement came shortly after US President Barack Obama ordered the White House to also take steps towards lifting sanctions on Iran.

Damaging sanctions

The EU and US sanctions have proved to be extremely damaging to Iran, locking up billions in the country's assets overseas and depriving its oil-dependent economy of vital technology and investment.

The nuclear agreement was reached in July this year, after 18 days of grueling talks in the Austrian capital, Vienna. The deal imposes new provisions for the inspection of Iranian facilities and aims to keep Iran from producing enough of the fissile material it would need to make a nuclear bomb.

Iran has always claimed, however, its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.

'Key role' in Syria talks

During his one-day visit to the Iranian parliament on Saturday, Schulz also said that Iran plays a "key role" in regional stability, especially in Syria.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is an element of stability in a region full of instability," Schulz said.

"As a result of terrorism in Syria we are facing an influx of refugees in Europe. Right now our main and common goal is fighting Daesh," the 'Islamic State' (IS) group, he said.

In a bid to end more than four years of conflict in Syria, Iran joined talks with world powers for the first time in Vienna last month. The Syrian regime and the opposition were not represented.

Both Iran and Russia support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, while Western powers have pushed for the leader to step down.

ksb/rc (AFP, dpa)

Related Article:

Iran, major powers trumpet historic nuclear deal (Jul 14, 2015)

US President Barack Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden, delivers

 remarks on in the East Room of the White House in Washington on July 14, 2015,

after an Iran nuclear deal was reached (AFP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

UK's Hammond hails 'new phase' of ties with Iran

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said the ties between the UK and Iran have entered a new phase as he reopened his country's embassy in Tehran. This follows an agreement with Iran to curb its nuclear program.

Deutsche Welle, 23 Aug 2015

Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond (L) and non-resident charge d'affaires
 Ajay Sharma watch as the Union flag is raised at the British Embassy in Tehran,
Iran, August 23, 2015

Hammond arrived in the Iranian capital on Sunday to attend the opening ceremony of the British Embassy and to hold talks with the officials of the Shiite state.

Britain severed diplomatic ties with Iran following an attack on its embassy in 2011. His trip to Iran was the first by a British foreign secretary since 2003.

"Four years on from an attack on the British Embassy, I am today re-opening it," Hammond said in a statement. "Today's ceremony marks the end of one phase in the relationship between our two countries and the start of a new one - one that I believe offers the promise of better," he added.

Iran simultaneously opened its embassy in London, confirmed the Iranian ISNA news agency.

"Our relationship has improved since 2011. President (Hasan) Rouhani's election and last month's nuclear agreement were important milestones. I believe that we have the potential to go much further," said Hammond.

Pleased to announce the re-opening of the British Embassy in #Tehran. Important milestone in improved relations. pic.twitter.com/Gfu8PnB3P1

— Philip Hammond (@PHammondMP) 23 augustus 2015

Common threats

According to the foreign secretary, terrorism, regional stability and the threat of the Sunni militant group "Islamic State" in Syria and Iraq are among some of the challenges which Britain and Iran will be trying to overcome together.

The new British charge d'affaires, Ajay Sharma, was also present at the Sunday's ceremony, which was attended by representatives of the Iranian foreign ministry. Hammond was also accompanied by a small delegate of trade representatives who will discuss the possibility of economic cooperation with Iran following the nuclear deal.

Under the terms of the P5+1 deal, sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United Nations and the United States are to be gradually lifted in exchange for Iran agreeing on the long-term curbs, which are mean to prevent Tehran from developing the capacity to produce a nuclear weapon.

The trip marked the first time a British
foreign secretary has visited Tehran
since 2003

While the United States and its Western allies have long suspected that Iran could be using its nuclear program as a cover to develop a nuclear bomb, Tehran has consistently insisted that the program is for peaceful purposes only.

Iran back on the world stage

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed the reopening of the British Embassy and said it proved his country's regional and global significance.

"The world has realized Iran's constructive role in the region and globe," Zarif was quoted as saying on Sunday. "Of course, we have differences with some European countries, but that can be negotiated through interaction, open eyes and a realistic approach," he added.

While the thaw in relations between Iran and the West has been hailed by most countries in the world, the US' Arab allies in the region and Israel are skeptical about it.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State John Kerry visited the Middle East to assure the Arab nations that the Iran deal would not undermine their interests in the region.

shs/se (Reuters, AP, dpa)

Related Article:

Iran, major powers trumpet historic nuclear deal