"Given this important turning point in the 12-year nuclear dispute, the Federal Council decided on 12 August to lift the sanctions against Iran that had been suspended since January 2014 and to issue a new exemption clause. The amendment to the corresponding ordinance comes into effect on 13 August," the Council said in a statement.
The decision will affect, among other things, the ban on precious metals transactions with Iranian state bodies, the requirement to report trade in Iranian petrochemical products, and the requirement to report the transport of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products.
The Swiss Federal Council stressed in its announcement it sought to promote a broad political and economic exchange with Iran, and pursued a consistent, neutral and balanced policy toward the Islamic republic.
Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter said in July, after international negotiators reached a nuclear deal with Iran, that Bern had to implement the conditions outlined in the deal as soon possible.
Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in a landmark deal with the P5+1 group of negotiators, including Russia, the United States, China, Britain, France and Germany, on July 14.
The UN Security Council voted to abolish its previous anti-Iran resolutions on July 20, and the EU Foreign Affairs Council voted in favor of the deal the same day.
The deal, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is yet to be approved or rejected by the US Congress this fall.
