The Fate of Nuclear Negotiations and the 'Sanctions Brokers' Market

Economic activists believe that in the current state of Iran's economy, reaching a nuclear agreement could be a lifeline for the country. Mirali Hosseini, in an interview with Fereydoun Khavand, an economic expert in Paris, asks how Iranian economic circles view the prospects of nuclear talks. Fereydoun Khavand: In economic and expert circles, as well as among market activists, there is once again a mix of hope and fear regarding the future of this round of Iran's nuclear talks. The hope stems from the fact that there is no shortage of good news, while the fear is that this time, it is almost certain that the matter will be resolved, and there will not be another round of talks in the foreseeable future. An example of Iranian economists' initiative can be seen in the editorial of the 'Donya-e-Eqtesad' newspaper published in Tehran on Tuesday, March 12, by Dr. Ghaninejad and Dr. Behkish, aimed at mobilizing supporters to resolve the nuclear issue. Their message is directed at Iranians residing in Europe and America, inviting them to launch a campaign to neutralize opponents of resolving the nuclear issue. The argument of these two economists is based on the impact of the outcome of the nuclear talks on the lives of individual Iranians. Iran needs to create one million job opportunities each year for its large number of university graduates, and sanctions only benefit countries like Turkey, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, which have filled Iran's place. Besides regional competitors, who benefits from Iran's sanctions domestically? Over the past thirty years, especially in recent years regarding the nuclear issue, powerful mafia groups within Iran have profited from the country's isolation and are currently mobilizing against Iranian negotiators with all their resources. With the lifting of sanctions and normalization of the country's international status, the sanctions brokers' market will close, and this is what they fear. In contrast, we see that all the vibrant forces of the country, business circles, investors, and entrepreneurs are eagerly looking forward to the end of sanctions. On Tuesday, following reports about the possible lifting of sanctions in the 'SWIFT' sector, the stock market revived. Which companies benefited from the release of these reports? 'SWIFT' is a center in Brussels that allows thousands of banks in two hundred countries to communicate with each other. Iran has been deprived of SWIFT services due to sanctions, and as a result, its transactions with the world have been paralyzed through the international banking system. On Tuesday, with the release of reports regarding the possibility of lifting sanctions in the 'SWIFT' area, bank stock trading surged rapidly, and the overall stock index rose. Once again, it became clear how sensitive Iranian markets are to reports related to the nuclear file and Iran's sanctions.