Iran: Limited Sanctions Relief Extended To 30 June 2015

In January 2014, both the EU and U.S. brought into force measures which temporarily suspended and relaxed (for an initial period of six months) some of the sanctions in place against Iran. This reflected the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) agreed to in November 2013 between Iran and the E3+3, also known as the P5+1, which includes, the U.S., Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany. Those measures were discussed in our alerts of 24 July 2014 and 23 January 2014.

At the end of that initial six month period, when no agreement between Iran and the P5+1 could be reached, all measures were extended for a further six months, to 24 November 2014.

On 24 November, it was announced that in order for discussions between Iran and the P5+1 to continue, all measures would be extended to 30 June 2015. The parties have noted that the goal is to have the significant points agreed to by March 2015, and the final agreement in place by 30 June 2015.

The suspension and relaxation of sanctions remains in place in identical form, except that Iran will be able to access an additional $700 million worth of assets each month that had previously been frozen. No additional sanctions have been suspended.

Health warning! As previously, there are two key points to be aware of in respect of the extension of the JPOA measures:

The EU and U.S. positions are not...