Washington: Iranian sanctions will be lifted in stages after the agreement

The sanctions imposed on Iran because of its nuclear programme will be lifted “only in phases” after reaching a final nuclear deal between Tehran and the world superpowers, the US said yesterday.

State Department spokesman, Jeff Rathke said: “Sanctions will be suspended in a phased manner upon verification that Iran has met specific commitments under a finalised joint comprehensive plan of action,” which is expected to be signed by 30 June.

This comes after the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a statement in which he doubted the possibility of reaching a final agreement in less than three months.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed yesterday that Iran demands all economic sanctions imposed on the country be lifted as soon as a final agreement on Tehran’s nuclear programme is reached. During a live televised speech Rouhani said: “We will not sign any deal unless all sanctions are lifted on the same day … We want a win-win deal for all parties involved in the nuclear talks.”