Iran nuclear deal compliance makes ‘world a safer place,’ UK says

Foreign Secretary Hammond urges British businesses to capitalize on lifting of sanctions, invest in Iran

By AFP 17 January 2016, 3:40 am

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US Secretary of State John Kerry (C), British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond (R) speak during a UN Security Council meeting on Syria at the United Nations, December 18, 2015. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP)

LONDON — British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond hailed Saturday’s implementation of the nuclear agreement between Iran and global powers as an “important landmark” that made the “world a safer place.”

“The nuclear deal with Iran, in which Britain played a major role, makes the Middle East and the wider world a safer place,” the British minister said in a statement.

Britain was one of the six major powers who struck July’s deal with Iran, which sees it limit its nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions.

Hammond said that “years of patient and persistent diplomacy… have borne fruit.”

“There were many skeptics who said Iran would never deliver on its side of the bargain, but the independent International Atomic Energy Agency has said they have,” said Hammond.

“Iran’s nuclear program has been substantially rolled back,” he added, before urging British businesses to capitalize on the lifting of international sanctions against Iran.

“The future is as important as the landmark we’ve reached today,” he said.