The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached one year ago today was a landmark international achievement, removing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran while illustrating the power of economic sanctions, coupled with tough diplomacy, to bring about a safer world. We are meeting our commitments under the deal, by lifting nuclear-related sanctions as specified in the JCPOA and by providing clear and timely guidance to government and private sector partners about engagement with Iran that is now permitted. And Iran has benefited economically under the deal, significantly increasing its oil sales, opening more than 300 new bank accounts with foreign banks, negotiating billions of dollars of new lines of credit, and seeing new planned foreign direct investment increase by more than $3 billion. We remain clear-eyed that the JCPOA did not resolve, nor was intended to resolve, concerns outside of the nuclear arena, including Iran’s support for terrorism and its ballistic missile program, and we will continue to leverage our various tools – including sanctions – to counter this behavior. We look forward to working with our international partners in the weeks and months ahead as we continue to implement the JCPOA.
July 14, 2016