US imposes new sanctions on Iran after prisoner exchange

Less than 24 hours after lifting sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program, the Obama administration announced Sunday that it was imposing new sanctions on Iran for violating United Nations resolutions against ballistic missile tests.

The announcement, which was prepared several weeks ago but delayed by the Treasury Department, was made shortly after a Swiss plane carrying Americans freed by the Iranian authorities departed Tehran. The release of the Americans came a day after Iran and the United States concluded delicate negotiations on a prisoner exchange tied indirectly to the completion of a nuclear agreement.

President Obama on Sunday hailed the agreements with Iran as the beginning of what he hopes will be a new era of constructive relations between two nations, which have been long estranged over ideology and regional ambitions.

"This is a good day," Obama said in a televised statement from the White House.

"We have a rare chance to pursue a new path, a different, better future that delivers progress both for our peoples and the wider world," said Obama, who has staked his political credibility on the opening with Iran. "That's the opportunity before the Iranian people. We need to take advantage of that." But Obama vowed to continue monitoring Iran's nuclear program to ensure it does not cheat and said he would work to restrain any aggressive behavior by Iran, including terrorist activity and human rights abuses.

He also noted the new sanctions on those involved with Iran's recent ballistic missile tests conducted in violation of United Nations restrictions, but he did not elaborate or dwell on that dispute.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said it was targeting for sanctions "11 entities and individuals involved in procurement on behalf of Iran's ballistic missile program" and "five Iranian individuals who have worked to procure ballistic missile components for Iran."

THE IRAN DEAL

Can Iran keep enriching uranium?
Yes. It can produce a small stock of uranium enriched at low levels — not suitable for a bomb without further processing. This limit lasts 15 years.

Can Iran still make a bomb?
If it abides by the deal, no, for at least a decade. It would not have enough material, or centrifuges running, to make a bomb’s worth of weapons-grade uranium in less than a year.

Will inspectors have access to military facilities?
Inspectors can ask to visit sites of suspected nuclear activity. But the provision is short of “anywhere, anytime,” because the inspectors first need to present evidence.

When will sanctions lift?
Major oil and financial sanctions could lift this year if Iran complies with the principal requirements in the deal.

How can the US be sure Iran won't cheat?
It can’t. Iran agreed to provide inspectors more access to its nuclear program and allow investigation of suspicious sites, but there are no guarantees.

How long will the deal last?
The deal limits Iran’s enrichment for 15 years. Caps on research and development loosen in about 10 years, but some restrictions will remain for up to 25 years.

Obama also announced that, in addition to the completion of the nuclear deal and the prisoner swap, the United States and Iran had resolved a three-decade-old financial dispute. The United States will return Iranian money held since the hostage crisis of 1979-81 with interest - but far less than Iran had been seeking, Obama said. Administration officials had denied that the missile sanctions were being delayed for political reasons.

Relatives of three of the freed Americans - Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati and Saeed Abedini - expressed joy after getting phone calls from the State Department that their family members were en route to Switzerland and then on to an American air base in Germany.

The fourth American freed in the exchange, Nosratollah Khosravi - whose incarceration had not been reported until the prisoner exchange was announced Saturday - was not on the plane, American officials said.

It was not immediately clear why.

On Sunday, a senior United States official said that "our detained US citizens have been released and that those who wished to depart Iran have left." The Washington Post also released a statement confirming that Rezaian, a reporter for the newspaper, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, had left Iran.

©2016 The New York Times News Service