Under the terms of an interim nuclear deal, the USA has allowed the transfer of $550 million – almost €407 million – in Iran’s frozen oil revenues to the country.<br /><br />The US Treasury Department announced the transaction a day after Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, met with US Secretary of State John Kerry.<br /><br />Zarif gave a press conference in Berlin on the day news of the transfer broke.<br /><br />“The best guarantee that could provide the assurance for everybody that Iran will never produce nuclear weapons is not limitation on Iran’s nuclear potential,” he said. “The best guarantee against a break out is to establish a type of relationship that it would be foolish to break out from.” <br /><br />Extensive sanctions were placed on Iran by the US, linked to the western Asian country’s controversial nuclear programme.<br /><br />But, Sunday’s meeting between Kerry and Zarif signalled a committed effort to solve the crisis.<br /><br />America helped to facilitate the shift in funds, which began on January 31 and was expected to be completed a matter of days. However, no US banks were said to be involved.<br /><br />The transfer is part of a six-month nuclear deal with the United Nations Security Council and Germany. In the deal, Iran agreed to curb its enrichment of uranium to a steady 20 percent and to convert or dilute its current stock, while continuing to enrich at lower levels.<br /><br />In return, Iran will receive temporary relief from certain sanctions.<br /><br />Over six months, the US and EU will make eight installments of a total of $4.2 billion, or €3.11 billion, of Iran’s previously-frozen assets.
