The world waits to see how Iran will emerge from its sanctions

What the Arabic press is saying about how Tehran will act without sanctions.

US secretary of state John Kerry speaks to journalists about his negotiations with Iran in Washington. Kevin Lamarque / Pool Photo via AP Photo

With the exchange of prisoners between the United States and Iran concluded and sanctions being lifted, there is plenty of speculation about the effect on future oil prices and the consequences this will have on economies in the region.

The Dubai-based Al Bayan’s editorial said with the start of economic sanctions on Iran being lifted, the world is waiting to discover how Tehran will react to the money about to flow into the country, from unfrozen funds and from increased oil sales.

“Iran’s policies have exhausted the Iranians and people in neighbouring countries. Iran wastes its economic resources on confrontations that cost the country billions each year. Experts estimate the amounts spent by Tehran on this since 1980 to be astronomical,” the editorial stated.

“This money would have had a greater benefit being used for all Iranians, instead of being wasted in bloody conflicts that reflect the sterile mindset of those doing the planning for Iran.”

The world is waiting for Tehran to “get back on the right path and make use of these funds for the benefit of the internal development of the country, including improving living standards, education, health and other sectors”.

The international community is also hoping Iran will withdraw from regional conflicts into which Tehran had put its financial and military capacity despite having “no plausible goal other than wasting its resources on illusions of expansion”.

“Any country that does not take the interests of its people into account above all else and that easily spends the money of its citizens on wars and conflict will pay the price sooner rather than later, because the rights of humans to the country’s wealth are preserved in law, legislation and regulations,” it added.

However, Tehran’s practices on the ground “go against this trend, harming the interests of the entire region, without exception”.

In the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat, Ghassan Charbel said the end of sanctions and the enactment of the nuclear agreement with Iran will have repercussions on security, stability, coexistence, balance of power and maps in the region. This is in line with another significant regional issue: the recent Russian military intervention in Syria.

“These two matters are intrinsically related, in view of Iran’s strong presence in Syria, though under the umbrella of a Russian general. The fact Moscow leaked the agreement that legitimises its military intervention in Syria days before the lifting of sanctions on Iran is noteworthy,” he wrote. “Naturally, Iran will celebrate the lifting of sanctions. It negotiated brilliantly and played its cards right, taking advantage of the presence of Barack Obama in the White House.

“Western companies will obviously rush to Iran for it is a country that needs a considerable overhaul, should it truly decide to favour development over ‘exporting the revolution’ and opt for prosperity over victory.”

These events will allow Iran to be part of the world economy once again and most importantly it will bring Iran back to the international community as a normal country that complies with definitions in the world of international relations, he concluded.

“The terms of the Russian-Syrian agreement led some diplomats to exaggerate and use expressions like ‘Russian mandate’ and ‘Russian Syria’, but regardless of the names, it is clear is that the essence of the conflict in Syria is now in the hands of the ‘tsar’,” he argued.

“Russia needs to move towards a solution to avoid a long clash that could be a heavy burden on its economy as well as its relations with its Muslim communities and the Sunni world.

“Any viable solution in Syria cannot be convenient for Iran. There is no solution in Syria that may bring Iran back to its pre-conflict influence in Damascus. The same applies to Hizbollah in Lebanon.”

He said Russian president Vladimir Putin’s intervention succeeded in preventing the collapse of the Syrian regime and in deferring the fate of its leader. However, Mr Putin’s statements about a new constitution and early presidential and legislative elections reveals the discord between the Syrian regime and Iran.

“Arabs hope that Iran is writing a new chapter with the Arab world as well. We should keep an eye on what happens in Damascus, in Baghdad, in Sanaa and in Beirut as well as in relations between Sunnis and Shiites, between Iran and Saudi Arabia and on the relations between Iran and the Arabs and the Turks,” Charbel added.

“Before drawing any conclusions on this, one must wait because only time will tell.”

* Translated by Carla Mirza