The decision, which eases restrictions on trade in petrochemicals and precious metals and on the provision of insurance for oil shipments, among other measures, is expected to go into effect later today.
"As part of the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action agreed by Iran and the E3/EU+3, which enters into force today, the Council today suspended certain EU restrictive measures against Iran for a period of six months," the Council of the European Union said in a press release on Monday.
"By putting the sanctions relief in place, the EU has implemented its part of the first step towards a comprehensive solution to address concerns about the Iranian nuclear programme," it added.
The Council reminded that this first step "may be prolonged by mutual consent between the Iran and the E3/EU+3".
It further explained that its today's decision "has lifted the prohibition on the provision of insurance and transport in relation to Iranian crude oil sales to its current customers as well as the ban on the import, purchase or transport of Iranian petrochemical products and related services".
"To enable the transport of Iranian crude oil and petrochemical products, the prohibition on the provision of vessels is also suspended," the press release continued.
"The ban on trade in gold and precious metals with the Iranian government, its public bodies and the Central Bank of Iran has also been suspended. As foreseen by the Joint Plan of Action, the thresholds for authorising financial transfers to and from Iran have been increased tenfold in order to ease legitimate trade with Iran."
"The suspension will last for a period of six months during which relevant contracts will have to be executed. The legal acts adopted by the Council will be published later today in the EU Official Journal and enter into force today," the EU Council concluded.
The EU move came after Iran halted its 20-percent enrichment under the deal struck with the six world powers in Geneva late in November.
A confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed Iran's voluntary suspension of its 20-percent uranium enrichment activities, and also said the country had begun diluting its stockpile of uranium enriched to concentration of 20 percent.
The IAEA added that Iran was also continuing to convert some of this reserve into oxide for producing reactor fuel.
The IAEA will play a pivotal role in checking Iran lives up to its part of the interim agreement by curbing uranium enrichment in exchange for some relaxation of sanctions against Tehran.
The IAEA report to member states said, "The Agency confirms that, as of 20 January 2014, Iran ... has ceased enriching uranium above 5 percent U-235 at the two cascades at the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP) and four cascades at the Frodo Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP) previously used for this purpose."
It was referring to Iran's two enrichment plants, at Natanz and Frodo.
Cascades are interlinked networks of centrifuge machines that refine uranium. The IAEA report also said Iran was, as of January 20, not "conducting any further advances" to its activities at the Arak heavy water research reactor.
Earlier in the day, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi called on the six world powers to meet their end of the bargain and start easing their sanctions on Tehran.
On November 24, Iran and the world powers sealed a six-month Joint Plan of Action to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program. In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet of world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran and continue talks with the country to settle all problems between the two sides.
Then after several rounds of experts talks, Iran and the six major world powers finalized an agreement earlier this month on the mechanism of implementing the deal.
Last week, a source form the EU said that the Union would begin lifting sanctions against Iran on Monday, January 20, the minute it receives the word that Tehran has begun implementing the nuclear deal.
The EU foreign ministers will announce the move in Brussels as soon as inspectors from the UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, confirm that the agreement started to be carried out.
Now one of the moves that the US-led West should adopt according to the Geneva deal is unfreezing and remitting $4.2 billion of Iran's assets.
According to diplomatic sources, three European banks have been commissioned to remit Iran’s unfrozen assets.
“The Societe Generale, Standard Chartered and one other bank are in charge of transferring these amounts,” they said.
