The European Union announced that it has dropped a series of sanctions against Iran following news from the IAEA that Iran has implemented its part of the Geneva agreement and suspended its uranium enrichment at the 20 percent level.
A statement released by the EU foreign ministers in Brussels says: “As part of the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action agreed to by Iran and the E3/EU+3, which enters into force today, the Council today suspended certain EU restrictive measures against Iran for a period of six months.”
The most significant is the suspension of the ban on insuring Iranian crude oil transports.
European insurers had accounted for 90 percent of coverage for Iranian oil exports around the world. Iran’s oil export have dropped by 50 percent due to the widespread sanctions imposed on it by Europe and the U.S.
The Geneva agreement lays out steps for the parties to take over the next six months; therefore, any new contracts between Iran and European firms are not to extend beyond that. During that period, another comprehensive deal may be negotiated.
