Members of the WTO agreed to allow Iran to open negotiations to join the body that governs international commerce. The US, which repeatedly had blocked Iran's long-held desire to join the WTO, raised no objections. The WTO takes such decisions by consensus. Iran first applied to join the WTO in 1996, but the US blocked its application 22 times. For five years, Iran's application was never even discussed because of US objections. Since 2001, the application has been on the agenda of each of the WTO's quarterly General Council meetings, but on every occasion until now it was blocked by the US. As a result of the decision Iran now has observer status and can sit in all WTO meetings. The Council also has created a working party for Iran's accession.
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