US committed to Iran sanctions relief: Kerry
US Secretary of State John Kerry has reiterated Washington's commitment to its sanctions relief obligations to Iran under last year’s nuclear agreement between Tehran and the permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany (P5+1).
Kerry made the remarks on Wednesday after a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
The meeting touched on Iran's complaints that it is not getting the sanctions relief it deserves under the agreement.
The comments came after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the US is not living up to its commitment to ease sanctions under the agreement.
Kerry said the US administration has completely kept faith with both the letter and spirit of the deal.
"In fact, I have personally gone beyond the absolute requirements of the lifting of sanctions to personally engage with banks and businesses and others who have a natural reluctance after several years of sanctions to move without fully understanding what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do,” he added.
The top US diplomat said there are limits to what Washington can do to encourage firms and banks to do business with Iran.
However, there are areas where the US administration could do more to show its good faith and give confidence where there is doubt, he noted.
“I feel that it is important for us if we're going to have future dealings (with Iran) or we want to have a reputation for good faith in negotiations we conduct anywhere. It's important for us to show good faith in executing this agreement and I intend to see to it that we do that," he added.
US banks are still banned from dealing with Iran as part of an old US trade embargo that still remains in place. Accordingly, this is believed to have already effectively blocked any transaction with Iran that is based on US dollars because they would ultimately have to be cleared in the US.
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