Britain: Sanctions on Iran may be lifted next spring

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Monday that he expects to begin lifting sanctions imposed on Iran in spring 2016.

In comments to Reuters during a visit to Tehran to reopen the British embassy in the Iranian capital, Hammond added that: “It is expected that Iran and the United States will sign their nuclear agreement, which was concluded last month, in October.”

He said that the groundwork may be laid before sanctions are officially lifted in order for investments to start flowing once the restrictions are no longer in place. “We could be talking about as early as next spring to start to see sanctions being lifted,” he affirmed.

With regard to the ongoing Syrian conflict, in which Tehran supports beleaguered President Bashar Al-Assad, Hammond said: “Britain and Iran are still having major disputes regarding the future of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,” adding that “what we disagree about is the role of only one person – Bashar Al-Assad – in this process, but the important thing is that we do negotiate and there is dialogue in place.”

“If we are going to reach a political solution, we have to engage the Iranians and the Russians in the process too,” he explained.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani has hinted at the strong desire of his country to negotiate, and suggested that Iran wants to open a new page in its relations with Britain and the West.