The US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a letter on Wednesday to the Senate foreign relations committee that Iran is fulfilling its obligations under the international agreement in what Kerry calls a “transparent” and “verifiable” way, and that “suspension of sanctions … is appropriate”.
The committee’s top Democrat, Senator Ben Cardin, said at a hearing on Thursday that it appears that sanctions relief could start as early as January, not in the spring as initially anticipated.
Cardin said that throughout the congressional review of the nuclear deal, witnesses for the Obama administration guessed that it would be spring until Iran could comply with the terms required for that relief to begin.