Nuclear deal cracks open Iran economy and helps students

IAEA confirmation that Iran has stopped enriching uranium to 20% starts the clock on six months of economic relief and on negotiations for a more-lasting agreement.
Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi (L) and Tero Varjoranta, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, attend a news conference at the headquarters of the IAEA in Vienna December 11, 2013. The U.N. nuclear agency and Iran aim to reach agreement next month on future steps to be taken by Tehran to help clarify concerns about its atomic activities, the two sides said after holding productive talks on Wednesday. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger (A
Reza Najafi (L), Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Tero Varjoranta, IAEA deputy director general and head of the Department of Safeguards, at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Dec. 11, 2013. - REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
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Barbara Slavin
@BarbaraSlavin1

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) on Jan. 20 began implementing an interim nuclear deal that cracks open the Iranian economy in key areas and also streamlines $400 million in tuition payments for thousands of Iranian students in US and other foreign colleges and universities.

A senior Barack Obama administration official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, insisted that implementation of the Nov. 24 deal “does not mean that Iran is open for business.”

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