International Shia News Agency

Austrian analyst: West under pressure to lift anti-Iran sanctions

SHAFAQNA – Chairman of Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP) Heinz Gartner believes that Western politicians are under mounting pressure by trade companies willing to work with Iran after the removal of the sanctions.

Speaking to IRNA in an exclusive interview, Gartner said many Western companies are waiting for lifting of the anti-Iran sanctions so that they can benefit from economic cooperation with the country.

Professor Gartner who is also a security affairs analyst was recently in Tehran to attend an international conference on extremism and terrorism.

OIIP which is run by professor Gartner, is an independent, non-profit think tank that focuses on globalization, European integration, comprehensive security, and the comparative study of international affairs.

Referring to the fact that Iran enjoys a progressing economy, he said Iran has the potentials to emerge as a new economic power both at regional and international levels.

Iran can join the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), provided that every economic capacities of the country was fully activated, Gartner said.

The BRIC countries are a select group of the four large, developing countries that are distinguished from a host of other promising emerging markets by their demographic and economic potential to rank among the world’s largest and most influential economies in the 21st century.

Together, the four original BRIC countries comprise more than 2.8 billion people or 40 percent of the world’s population, cover more than a quarter of the world’s land area over three continents, and account for more than 25 percent of global GDP.

Touching upon the perspectives for a comprehensive nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1, the Austrian analyst referred to the US Congress as the main obstacle on the way of making any deal with Iran.

The US congressmen are trying to halt reaching any nuclear agreement with Iran but this would be possible if all negotiating parties (Iran on one hand and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany on the other) enjoy a political intension for reaching a final deal before the end of the deadline (July 1st , 2015), he said.

He referred to President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as two experienced and internationally-known politicians who have changed Iran’s image at the global scene. Such a move, in turn, has led to a remarkable change in relations between the international community and Iran.

Iran and Group 5+1 have so far held 10 rounds of nuclear talks. The last round ended in Vienna, Austria, on November 24 which was set as the deadline to reach a final comprehensive agreement. However, after failing to make a final deal on that time, the negotiating parties decided to extend the talks for another seven months (July 1, 2015).

The nuclear talks have been extended twice due to certain disagreements

 

Source:IRNA

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