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347904
Sat, 11/15/2014 - 12:47
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UK daily: Multinationals hungry for N-deal to end sanctions

Tehran, Nov 15, IRNA – The UK daily "The Guardians" said Iranians and multinationals are hungry for nuclear deal that will end sanctions. In an article on Friday, the daily referred to the last week gathering outside the former US embassy’s compound in Tehran to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the hostage crisis, when 52 American diplomats were held captive for 444 days in 1980. The article believed "there remains a deep suspicion of the US in Iran, but even the most conservative factions of the Islamic Republic hope for a way out of the current nuclear stalemate." It said, "Mohammad Marandi, a Tehran University professor close to the Iranian establishment, told the Guardian that Iranians wanted the negotiations to succeed and that in his view, the Americans could not afford for them to fail." “I don’t think that the talks will fail because the United States is facing too much trouble. Americans and Europeans are facing major economic problems at home, tensions with Russia are very high, Russia and China are moving towards Iran, tensions with China are gradually increasing over the South China Sea and of course the US-Saudi alliance has led to the ISIL [ISIS] disaster that is a major security threat to Western countries. I don’t think the Americans are really in a position to escalate tensions.” It went to quote Hossein Mousavian, a former spokesperson for Iran’s nuclear negotiating team who had worked with Rouhani in the past, as saying that "a nuclear agreement in Vienna would strengthen the Iranian president’s administration." Mousavian told the Guardian: “It would have a great impact on the economic situation, improve the image of the US and the West in Iran, would open the door for broader cooperation with the world powers on the regional crisis and would be a great achievement for the Iranian administration.” Pointing to a gathering of a group of Iranian and foreign investors in Iran-EU forum in London last month to study business opportunities in Iran, it said should the talks bear fruit international companies could return to Iran. The organizer of the event Esfandyar Batmanqelich "struck a more optimistic note and said investors were hoping for a return." “I think the mood is cautiously optimistic,” he told The Guardian. “Everyone is following the talks. There’s an interesting situation where they are following the political analysis, they are keeping up to date with the news and people are hopeful the P5+1 [UK, China, France, Germany, Russia and US] and Iran are serious about coming to an agreement but however many positive signs there are, there are also worrying signs like the outcome of the elections in the US and the very significant resistance to the deal that is coming from certain special interest groups.” "According to Batmanqelich, if the negotiations lead to a comprehensive deal that includes easing sanctions, there will be a great deal of business opportunities in Iran." “Typically when individuals are talking about the opportunities in Iran, the first thing people think is of is big oil and energy contracts but I think the real opportunities and the one that is going to mean the most for Iran in the long term in terms of it developing into an advanced economy, is opportunities around Iran’s consumer marketplace,” he said. “It’s a country of 80 million people – young, educated, they have pretty good purchasing power. They are hungry for the best international products and brands, everything from cosmetics to cars to healthcare products, I think the industries that touch the end consumer are going to be the ones that are most successful.” Amir Ali Handjani, an Iranian-American energy executive based in Dubai, said foreign companies were waiting on the sidelines to see if the negotiations with Iran and the P5+1 culminate with a deal./end

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