Sanctions Against Iran: Keep Calm – There's No Change Yet

On 14 July 2015, Iran and a group of countries comprising the USA, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany agreed on a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) on Iran's nuclear programme. Completion of the JCPoA should lead to the lifting of various sanctions currently in place against Iran and relating to Iranian business.

Businesses have become excited about the potential to steal a march on their competitors by getting into Iran quickly. Many believe sanctions have already been lifted. But this is not the case: in reality, no business subject to the UK sanctions regime can have any further dealings in or with Iran now than they could have done before the JCPoA. Several conditions attach to the lifting of the sanctions, which mean that it is unlikely we will see any relaxation much before mid-2016. Even then, some restrictions will remain.