VIENNA, Jul. 14 (MNA) – Iran and the European Union is­sued an official joint state­ment on the agreement over Iran's nuclear program.  EU Fo­reign Policy Chief Federica Mo­gherini expressed her gra­titude to all the media who ha­ve been following endless but successful nuclear negotiations for all those days and nights, weeks and months.

Following is the text of her speech to the media in Vienna:

Today is a historic day, it is great honor for us to announce that we have reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue. With courage, political will, mutual respect and leadership we concluded what the world was hoping for. A shared commitment to peace and a joint hand in order to make our world safer. This is a historic day also because we are creating the conditions for building the trust and opening a new chapter in our relationship.

This achievement is the result of a collective effort. No one ever thought it will be easy. Historic deci­sions never are. But despite all twists and turns in the talks and the number of extensions, hope and determination enabled us to overcome all the difficult moments.  We have always been aware we had responsibility to our generation and the future ones. Thanks to the constructive engagement of all parties and the dedication of our teams, we have successfully concluded negotiations and re­sol­ved disputes that lasted more than 10 years. Many people brought these difficult negotiations for­ward during the last decade and we would like to thank them all, as we would like to thank the Inter­national Atomic Energy Agency for its critical contribution and close cooperation as well as the Aus­tri­an government for the support and hospitality, thank you.

We the European Union high representative for foreign security policy and the foreign minister of Is­lamic republic of Iran, together with the foreign ministers of People Republic of China, France, Ger­many, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States of America for several months of in­ten­sive work at various levels and in different formats to negotiate the text of the JCPOA based on the key parameters agreed in Lausanne on the second of April.

We have today agreed on the final text of this JCPOA. The E3/EU+3 and the Islamic republic of Iran wel­come this historic JCPOA which will ensure that Iran's nuclear program will be exclusively peace­ful and mark a fundamental shift in their approach to this issue.

They anticipate that full implementation of JCPOA will positively contribute to regional and interna­tional peace and security. Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will ever seek, develop or ac­quire any nuclear weapons. The JCPOA includes Iran's all long term plan with a great limitation on Iran's nuclear program and will produce the comprehensive lifting of all UN Security Council sanc­ti­ons as well as multi-lateral and national sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program including steps on axes in trade technology finance and energy.

The JCPOA comprises of a main text and five technical annexes on nuclear, sanctions, civil nuclear energy corporations, joint commissions and implementation.  These documents are detailed and specific. That is important because all sides wanted clarity so as to ensure the full and effective im­plementation of the agreement.  The JCPOA is a balanced deal that respects of the interests of all sides. It is also complex detailed and technical. We cannot fully summarize the agreement now but the full main text and all its annexes would be made public still today and will be presented within the next few days by the E3/EU+3 to the Security Council for endorsement.

We know that this agreement will be subject to intense scrutiny, but what we are announcing today is not only a deal. It is a good deal and the good deal for all sides and the wider international commu­nity. This agreement opens new possibilities to end crises that lasted for more than ten years.  We are committed to make sure this JCPOA is fully implemented counting also on the contribution of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

We call on the world community to support implementation of this historic effort. This is the con­clu­sion of our negotiations. This is not the end of our common work. We will keep doing this important task together.

TEHRAN- The U.S. exported over $112.3 million worth of products to Iran during the first five months of 2015, a 60 percent rise from $70.3 million in the same period of time in 2014, ac­cor­­ding to the latest report released by the U.S. Commerce Department.  The U.S. had no im­ports from Iran during January-May 2015, the Tasnim News Agency reported on Sunday.  The Iran-U.S. trade totaled $182.1 million in 2014, with one hundred percent of the sum related to U.S. exports to Iran. The value of trade between Iran and the U.S. dropped 42 percent in 2014 from 2013. 

On May 23, Head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture Gholam­reza Shafei said the Iranian government has given the green light to private business owners to forge trade ties with their American counterparts.   He said the government had “advised” for initial connection between the two countries’ private sectors before formal trade links could take shape.   “Unofficial connections could pave the way for establishment of joint cham­bers of commerce between Iran and America,” the official stated; adding that the idea of setting up a joint chamber of commerce with the Americans is being mooted for 10 months now. 

Tehran, July 14, IRNA – The Islamic Republic of Iran Post Company has signed an MoU for co­o­pe­­ra­tion with Germany’s logistics firm DHL and Dutch package delivery firm TNT Express, its chief executive has said.  Hossein Mehri said the state-run Iranian company had made the deci­sion “in order to provide better services to customers and compete with foreign rivals”.  “DHL, with a fleet of more than 250 aircraft, has the largest and most unique air and ground trans­por­tation network. Why should we not tap this potential for better services to the people?” he said, Press TV reported.  Under the agreement, Iran Post Company will collect local parcels on be­half of the foreign companies and deliver them to those firms in order to reduce the for­war­ding time, Mehri added.  DHL is owned by German mail and logistics group Deutsche Post, pro­viding express courier delivery, freight forwarding and supply chain services.  It has been ope­ra­ting in Iran for years through a representative but its cooperation with the state-run Iranian post company is the first in its kind. 

TNT Express is a Dutch express delivery company which collects, transports and delivers docu­ments, parcels and freight across the world.  Iran Post Company is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Communications of Information Technology which transports more than 3 million parcels a day. It connects some 29,000 destinations and employs more than 16,000 people.  Postal servi­ce in Iran has an ancient history, dating back to the Achaemenid era in the fifth century BC when couriers called 'chapars' who rode horses were stationed end-to-end within certain dis­tan­ces to forward royal decrees.

Tehran, July 5, IRNA – The value of ex­ports (ex­cluding crude oil and gas con­den­sates) rose 7% in the first five months of 2015 compared with the si­milar period in 2014, while imports de­clined by 19% in terms of value, ac­cor­ding to the Islamic Republic of Iran Cus­toms Administration.  The figures indi­ca­te a narrowing down of trade deficit to $4.97 billion compared to $10.43 billion during the same period last year.  Iran exported $14.76 billion worth of goods during the five-month period ending on May 31, while imports stood at $19.74 billion.

Meanwhile, even as exports grew 7% in terms of value, the total weight of exported commo­di­ties dropped by 12% compared to last year, indicating a shift in the country's exports toward higher value commodities. Also, imports dropped 9% in terms of weight compared with the pre­­vious year, as reported by Persian newspaper Donya-e-Eghtesad citing the IRICA.  Out of the 165 countries listed in the IRICA's report, Iran registered positive balance of trade with 85 coun­tries. Iraq was the most favorable market for Iranian products, accounting for 46.3% of Iran's po­sitive trade balance. The highest trade deficit was recorded with the United Arab Emirates as the country accounted for 23.9% of Iran's negative trade balance during the period.

Top Export-Import Commodities

Major export commodities during the period included liquefied petroleum gases (5.69%), bitu­men (4.14%) and polyethylene grade film of below 94% density (3.98%).  The main goods im­ported during the period included corn for cattle feed (3.46%), motor vehicles with engine ca­pa­city of 1500-2500cc excluding ambulances and hybrid vehicles (3.37%) and wheat (2.72%).

Sources, Destinations

China, Iraq, the UAE, India and Turkey were the biggest buyers of Iranian goods during the peri­od, together accounting for 69.1% of total exports.  China was the top export destination with 23% share of export value, down 13% compared with the similar period in 2014. Iraq was the second biggest destination accounting for 17.27% of export value, just like a year ago. The UAE, India and Turkey were other major export destinations, accounting for 13.8%, 8.34% and 6.68% of export value respectively. Total exports to the three countries increased by 31%, 55% and 26% respectively in terms of value compared to the similar period in 2014.
Meanwhile, China, the UAE, South Korea, Turkey and India led the list of exporters to Iran, toge­ther accounting for 71.59% of imports. 

China was the biggest exporter, accounting for 25.24% of the imports. The value of imports from China dropped 1% compared to the corresponding period last year. The UAE was the se­cond major exporter, representing 23% of Iran's imports during the period, down 31% com­pa­red with last year. South Korea (9.42%), Turkey (7.51%) and India (6.42%) were the other major exporters. While the value of imports from South Korea rose by 10% compared with the similar period in 2014, imports from Turkey and India declined by 8% and 37% respectively. (FTD)