[An Nahar] Iran has received the first installment of $4.2 billion in frozen assets as part of a nuclear deal with world powers, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told ISNA news agency Saturday.Unblocking the funds under the landmark deal in which Iran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear program and halt further advances is expected to breathe new life into its crippled economy.
"The first tranche of $500 million was deposited in a Swiss bank account, and everything was done in accordance with the agreement," Araqchi said.
Iran clinched the interim deal in November with the P5+1 group -- Britannia, China, La Belle France, Russia, the United States and Germany -- and began implementing the agreement on January 20.
Under the agreement, which is to last six months, Iran committed to limit its uranium enrichment to five percent, halting production of 20 percent-enriched uranium.
In return, the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
and the United States have eased crippling economic sanctions on Iran.
A senior U.S. administration official told Agence La Belle France Presse last month that the first $550-million (400-million-euro) installment of $4.2 billion in frozen assets would be released from February.
"The installment schedule starts on February 1 and the payments are evenly distributed" across 180 days, the U.S. official said.