U.S. and Europe start process of easing Iran sanctions as part of nuclear deal

On Sunday, President Obama and the European Union issued legal documents paving the way for the lifting of financial and economic sanctions against Iran, but only if Tehran complies with the terms of the deal hammered out with the U.S., the EU, three European nations, China, and Russia. In Europe, the EU published its documents and Obama ordered the relevant federal departments — state, treasury, commerce, and energy — to "take all necessary steps to give effect to the U.S. commitments with respect to sanctions described in (the Iran deal)." The U.S. will keep other sanctions in place regardless.

The sanctions won't be eased until the International Atomic Energy Agency affirms that Iran has lived up to its commitments, a process German Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said wouldn't be complete until the end of the year or the beginning of 2016. Last week, the IAEA said Iran had given it all the necessary information to determine its past history of nuclear activity, as mandated by the nuclear agreement, and on Sunday the U.N. atomic watchdog said Tehran had agreed to protocols allowing more intrusive nuclear inspections. You can learn more in the VOA video below. Peter Weber