Free Republic

DAVOS, Switzerland (CNN) -- Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged to CNBC Thursday that some of the money Iran received in sanctions relief would go to groups considered terrorists. When asked about whether some the $150 billion in sanctions relief to Iran would go to terrorist groups, Kerry reiterated that, after settling debts, Iran would receive closer to $55 billion. He conceded some of that could go to groups considered terrorists, saying there was nothing the U.S. could do to prevent that. "I think that some of it will end up in the hands of the IRGC or other entities,...

TEHRAN - Iran announced Saturday that it had released four Iranian-Americans as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States. The announcement from the judiciary on state television did not identify the four, but Iranian news media said they included Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent; Amir Hekmati, a Marine veteran; and Saeed Abedini, a pastor. There were discrepancies in the Iranian reports about the identity of the fourth prisoner. It was not immediately clear whom the Americans released, but Iranian reports said seven Iranians were freed. The exchange was apparently orchestrated to coincide with the expected announcement...

“The United States and Iran today have settled a long outstanding claim at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in the Hague,” the statement from Secretary of State John Kerry reads. “This specific claim was in the amount of a $400 million Trust Fund used by Iran to purchase military equipment from the United States prior to the break in diplomatic ties.” The claim was first filed in 1981 when Iran had an outstanding order for military equipment under the regime, which the U.S. refused to fill after the Iranian revolution. The payment is in addition to the $100 to $150 billion...

resident Obama today declared at the White House that "Iran will not get its hands on a nuclear bomb" and that their "tireless" negotiations paid off with several American hostages coming home.Obama's Cabinet Room statement came a day after the administration announced the lifting of sanctions on Iran for Implementation Day of the nuclear deal as well as the prisoner swap: seven to Iran, five to the U.S. The administration is claiming the fifth American, student Matthew Trevithick, was released not as part of the swap but as a goodwill gesture by Iran.Obama called the clemency granted to six Iranian–Americans...

Stock markets across the Middle East saw more than £27bn wiped off their value as the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran threatened to unleash a fresh wave of oil onto global markets that are already drowning in excess supply.

Stock markets across the Middle East collapsed as the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran threatened to unleash a fresh wave of oil onto global markets that are already drowning in excess supply. All seven stock markets in Gulf states tumbled as panic gripped traders. Dubai's DFM General Index slumped 4.8pc to 2,682.56, while Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index collapsed by 7pc to 5,409.35, its lowest level in almost five years.

The U.N. nuclear agency certified Saturday that Iran has met all of its commitments under last summer's landmark nuclear deal, crowning years of U.S.-led efforts to crimp Iran's ability to make atomic weapons. For Iran, the move lifts Western economic sanctions that have been in place for years, unlocking access to $100 billion in frozen assets and unleashing new opportunities for its battered economy. "The multinational economic and financial sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program are lifted," Federica Mogherini, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said in a joint statement also read in Farsi by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad...

Less than one week before the international community is set to unlock a decade of sanctions imposed on Iran, the country’s Islamic hardliners deliberately generated a crisis with the US for pure domestic consumption with the aim of ensuring the ayatollahs’s continued grip on power. Once the International Atomic Energy Agency announces on Friday as expected that Iran has fulfilled its obligations under the US-brokered nuclear accord, the billions of dollars in unfrozen accounts and the massive flow of oil exports will usher in historic changes to Iran’s long-isolated economy.

Analysis: Friday will see the removal of the sanctions regime imposed on Iran since 2007, and Russia is already deep in talks with Tehran on the sale of advanced weapons. Most of the economic sanctions imposed on Iran will be removed on Friday, US State Department officials said, while Russia readies the sale of advanced weapons to the Islamic Republic. January 15 will mark the end of the international sanctions regime, which has been in place since 2007 through a series of decisions by American Presidents George W. Bush and Barak Obama, legislation passed by the US Congress and in...