Foreign Companies in Post-Sanctions Iran

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, warned a group referred to as "sanction brokers" that, considering the imminent final agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group and the positive changes in the country, they should start thinking about other jobs. "Sanction brokers" in the rhetoric of the Iranian President refers to political and economic gangs that managed to acquire what some Iranian officials describe as legendary wealth during the years of intensified sanctions over Iran's nuclear file. According to ISNA, Mr. Rouhani emphasized that the sanctions regime is completely collapsing as the final agreement approaches. Meanwhile, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization stated that the lifting of secondary sanctions by the U.S. and Europe would take no more than one or two months after the signing of the agreement between Iran and the P5+1. In a discussion, Mehrdad Emadi, an economist residing in London, commented on the realism of the hopes expressed by the Iranian President and other officials and how much they help the psychological position of producers. He stated, "If we look outside Iran, which I believe might be a better thermometer, this thermometer shows a very high level of energy. We can measure this in three geographical areas: one is the U.S. (not Canada); in the European Union, we divide this into a series of second-tier countries waiting for the doors to open, alongside which are four countries that have already begun risk assessments for joint projects—Germany, France, Austria, and Italy. Alongside these, we see countries like the UK and Switzerland expressing interest in entering the Iranian market in financial services when sanctions are lifted. The reality is that the general expectation in the Western industrial and financial community is that sanctions will be lifted. The major difference may be that Iran expects or hopes these sanctions will be lifted very quickly, whereas in the West, this urgency seen by Iran is not perceived to the same extent." Mr. Rouhani clarified that some believe the government is only seeking to resolve the nuclear issue in the negotiations, while this is the first step to solving fundamental problems. The Iranian President identified these fundamental problems as first, lifting global accusations against Iran's nuclear program, and second, lifting sanctions and resolving Iran's economic issues. Mehrdad Emadi noted that "Iran is a very important country economically, both in terms of geographical position and natural resources, and if Iran's human resources are managed correctly, companies like Daimler, Volkswagen, Audi, and Total will see that utilizing Iranian engineers and technologists in many joint projects can turn Iran into a relatively cheap export base for neighboring countries and even North African countries. Overall, this opening in Iran's foreign trade and investment indicates a realistic underpinning to this optimism." Iran and global powers are expected to reach a comprehensive final agreement on the nuclear file by the first week of July this year following the Lausanne understanding.