The European Union's highest court ruled on February 18 that Bank Mellat, Iran's largest privately-owned bank, had been improperly sanctioned by the European Union in 2010.  The European Court of Justice found insufficient evidence to support the contention that Bank Mellat was involved in Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.  The EU removed sanctions on Bank Mellat in January following the implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran, but the court's decision, which cannot be appealed, could allow a claim for damages.

Chinese national Sihai Cheng was sentenced to nine years in U.S. federal prison for his role in conspiring to export American-made pressure transducers to Iran in violation of U.S. export laws.  Charges against his Iranian co-conspirator, Seyed Abolfazi Shahab Jamili, were dropped as part of the prisoner exchange agreement with Iran on January 17.  Cheng sold Jamili thousands of controlled goods with nuclear applications, including vacuum pressure valves, titanium sheets and tubes, and electronic switches.

The United States and European Union lifted sanctions on Iran's oil, financial, and other sectors on January 16, after the International Atomic Energy Agency verified that Iran had dismantled major components of its nuclear program.  Iran also received access to roughly $100 billion in frozen assets, while hundreds of Iranian entities were removed from the U.S., E.U., and U.N. blacklists. Iran's commitments under the nuclear deal included: shipping 98 percent of its low-enriched uranium to Russia; dismantling more than 12,000 centrifuges; and pouring cement into the core of the Arak reactor.  In parallel to the implementation of the nuclear deal, the United States and Iran reached agreement on a prisoner exchange, which included the release of five Americans.  In return, seven Iranians were released, and 14 others were removed from the Interpol wanted list.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Board of Governors voted unanimously to close the Agency's investigation into Iran's alleged past nuclear weapons work on December 15.  That investigation concluded that Iran had a coordinated nuclear-weapons related program until 2003 and that some weapons-related activities continued through 2009.  The closure of the investigation keeps Iran on track to receive large-scale sanctions relief as part of the nuclear accord reached with six world powers in July.