Past or Future, US or Russia: Iran Faces Hard Choices
The confrontation between Washington and Tehran has lasted for 36 years since 1979. This is the first time the both parties have reached an agreement - the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The United Nations Security Council has approved the Vienna accords on Iran’s nuclear program with seven previous resolutions on sanctions against Tehran terminated.
The European Union followed the case. Washington has spent many years to create a system of anti-Iranian sanctions. Now it is being dismantled. Does it mean that Iran is making concessions and turning away from Russia? Will Iran put at stake its independence lured by benefits resulting from restoration of economic cooperation with the United States and the European Union?
At the best case the sanctions could be lifted in 90 days after the UN Security Council’s resolution. Iran believes the main restrictions will be in force till 2016. The government hopes that unlike previous three years it could adopt the next fiscal year’s (starting from March 21, 2016) budget without the sanctions being a factor to be taken into consideration.
The foreign accounts Iran will get access to following successful implementation of the agreement with P5+1 amount to USD 29 billion instead of 100 billion, says Valiollah Seif, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (SBI). Under the deal between Iran and six world powers (P5+1), the sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear program that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.
