The Wealth That Iran's Missiles Brought to Arms Companies

The Foreign Policy magazine, referring to the negotiations between Iran and the 1+5, has written that Barack Obama's determination to reach an agreement with Iran has brought a windfall to American arms companies. According to Foreign Policy, since the Gulf Cooperation Council countries do not trust this agreement and Iran's ballistic missile capabilities remain untouched in this deal, the southern Gulf countries have accelerated their arms purchases, and the market for defense systems has become increasingly heated. Foreign Policy adds that even if the nuclear agreement is not reached, Gulf Arab countries will likely continue their billion-dollar purchases, and arms companies are not concerned about this. Lockheed Martin has announced its intention to increase its foreign sales by 20 percent by the end of 2015. A significant portion of these weapons will be missile defense systems, nearly half of which will be sold to America's allies in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. In recent years, the UAE has purchased two THAAD missile defense systems from Lockheed Martin worth $1.9 billion. Qatar and Saudi Arabia are also seeking mobile missile systems and radars made by Raytheon for these systems. Estimates indicate that 10 percent of Raytheon's $23 billion revenue comes from exports to Middle Eastern countries. This company has sold Patriot missile defense systems worth billions of dollars to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. These sales have been accompanied by substantial maintenance and upgrade contracts. This year, Saudi Arabia signed a $2 billion contract to purchase Patriot systems from Raytheon. The Wall Street Journal also refers to the nuclear negotiations and discusses the history of trust-building between Tehran and Washington, highlighting secret contacts mediated by Oman. According to the Wall Street Journal, in late 2009, Iran provided a list of its requests to test Barack Obama, one of which was the release of Iranian prisoners in the U.S. and other countries. Based on this report, these requests were communicated to the Americans through Sultan Qaboos, the King of Oman. Among the Iranian officials' demands were placing certain opposition groups on the U.S. blacklist and increasing U.S. visa issuance for Iranian students. Ultimately, according to officials cited by the Wall Street Journal, some of these requests were fulfilled by Washington, including the release of four Iranians in the U.S. and the UK. These contacts and secret meetings paved the way for nuclear negotiations to resolve the nuclear file in 2013. Secret meetings between Iranian and American officials began three years before 2013 in Muscat, the capital of Oman. The Wall Street Journal points out the opponents and supporters of the nuclear agreement with Iran in the White House. Some U.S. officials believe that the nuclear agreement could moderate Iran and tilt it towards the West; others believe that the agreement strengthens the position of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The newspaper adds that others in the Obama administration, like the Arab countries and Israel, see this agreement as a concession to Iran to temporarily slow its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. Supporters of the agreement in the White House, however, believe that engagement with Iran over the past six years has reduced tensions between the two countries and opened the door for potential future cooperation, for example, against the Islamic State or ISIS. The Wall Street Journal, referencing Barack Obama's Nowruz messages and his phone call with Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani in 2013, as well as his letters to Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and his response, noted that the U.S. designated the group Jundallah as a terrorist organization in November 2010; this group is responsible for killing hundreds in attacks on Shia mosques and military sites. Another confidence-building measure by the U.S., according to this newspaper, was the establishment of a virtual U.S. embassy in 2011 for Iranians to facilitate visa issuance and student exchanges, although Americans have denied any connection between the ease of visa issuance and Iran's requests. The Wall Street Journal reports that during Obama's administration, the number of Iranian students in the U.S. doubled to 10,000. The Washington Post has also reported that the nuclear negotiations will not conclude by the set deadline of July 1, and discussions will extend beyond this date. The newspaper also noted Zarif's return to Tehran and stated that two fundamental disagreements remain: one regarding the pace of lifting sanctions and the other concerning the extent of inspectors' access. The Washington Post adds that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had a 20-minute conversation with his American counterpart before departing for Tehran on Sunday. According to the newspaper, Zarif's absence until Tuesday was interpreted as a presentation of the 1+5 proposals to Iran's leadership. The Washington Post recalled that the Iranian leader had specified the red lines of the negotiations last week: lifting sanctions on the day of the agreement, prohibiting inspectors' access to military sites, and determining a timeline of 10 years or more for the agreement; the author of the newspaper wrote that it is unclear whether these red lines are a tactic in the negotiations for gaining concessions or whether Iran genuinely wants to operate within these red lines. The newspaper noted that throughout the negotiations, Americans have repeatedly raised the status of American prisoners in Iran: Amir Hekmati, Pastor Saeed Abedini, Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter, and Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who has gone missing. The Washington Times, in an article, has focused on the human rights situation in Iran, stating that the condition of women and children has worsened during Hassan Rouhani's presidency while negotiations continue. This newspaper has cited the acid attacks in Isfahan and the execution of underage defendants as indicators of the deteriorating human rights situation. The Washington Times, referencing a report by Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, stated that this year at least 160 children are under death sentences. Citing a report by Amnesty International, the Washington Times wrote that at least 289 people were executed in Iran last year, placing Iran second after China in executions.