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VIENNA (AP) — Negotiators at the Iran nuclear talks plan to announce Monday that they've reached a historic deal capping nearly a decade of diplomacy that would curb the country's atomic program in return for sanctions relief, two diplomats told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The envoys said a provisional agreement may be reached even earlier — by late Sunday. But they cautioned that final details of the pact were still being worked out. Once it is complete, a formal, final agreement would be open to review by officials in the capitals of Iran and the six world powers at the talks, they said.
Senior U.S. and Iranian officials suggested, however, there might not be enough time to reach a deal by the end of Sunday and that the drafting of documents could bleed into Monday.
Iran's Day Bank has announced joining the SWIFT transaction system, which facilitates worldwide bank transfers. The private system cut off Iranian financial institutions in 2012 amid a US-led campaign to cripple the country's economy.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) blocked 30 Iranian banks from its services after the EU joined American sanctions against the Iranian banking sector.
Now the financial blockade appears to be crumbling, as Day Bank governor Ahmad Shafizadeh announced joining the system after a lengthy campaign, the Iran News Daily reported.
Iranian bank joins SWIFT breaking blockade
Protesters were undeterred despite the prospect of massive economic sanctions relief due to an imminent agreement with the US.
Tens of thousands of protesters in Tehran and cities across Iran Friday chanted “Death to America” in the Islamic Republic’s annual Quds (Jerusalem) Day demonstration.
Even with stifling heat approaching 100 degrees (38 Celcius), the crowds were undeterred. Participants in the demonstrations included President Hasan Rouhani, his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, his brother Sadeq, head of the judiciary branch of the government, General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, commander of the ground forces of the Iranian army and General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.