International sanctions against Iran have been lifted after the United Nation atomic watchdog announced that the country had complied with the terms of last July's deal aimed at scaling down its nuclear programme.
According to Aljazeera, The United States and the European Union said on Saturday that nuclear-related sanctions against Iran were lifted, after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that Tehran had put in place all nuclear measures required under a deal reached with six world powers in July.
"Iran has carried out all measures required under the (July deal) to enable Implementation Day to occur," the Vienna-based IAEA said in a statement on Saturday.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that as a result "multilateral and national economic and financial sanctions related to Iran's nuclear programme are lifted".
"All sides remain firmly convinced that this historic deal is both strong and fair, and that it meets the requirements of all," Mogherini said in Vienna on Saturday in a joint statement with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"This achievement clearly demonstrates that with political will, perseverance, and through multilateral diplomacy, we can solve the most difficult issues and find practical solutions that are effectively implemented," they said.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said it was a "glorious victory" for the "patient nation of Iran."
"I thank God for this blessing & bow to the greatness of the patient nation of Iran," Rouhani said on his official Twitter account.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who had arrived in Vienna earlier on Saturday as Iran and Western powers finalised the arrangements for the lifting of sanctions, said the steps taken by Tehran have fundamentally changed its nuclear programme.
"Today... the United States, our friends and allies in the Middle East, and the entire world are safer because the threat of the nuclear weapon has been reduced," Kerry said.
The lifting of the sanctions followed news of a prisoner swap deal between Iran and the US, which included the release of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian.
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Vienna, said the lifting on sanctions "will inevitably have an impact on the oil price, some analysts say it could go down to as low as $20 a barrel", because its exports would rise, increasing supply further.
On Friday, oil prices fell to below $30 a barrel, a new 12-year low, amid renewed concerns of slow growth in China - the world's second largest economy.
Iran is the world's fourth largest oil producer.
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