by MOHAMMAD AMIN
The Daily Caller, 22 May 2017- On May 19, 2017, Incumbent President Hassan Rouhani won Iran’s election over his rival Ebrahim Raisi.While Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who is the chief decision maker in Iran, seems to have decided upon a policy of isolationism and exerting military power, directly or by proxy, throughout the Middle East.
Are there any chances of economic growth in Iran? Business opportunities for foreign companies and a revival of foreign investments, and what is the outlook for a reduction of risks in a trade with this country?
If the past is prologue, then the answer lies in the exceptional window of opportunity created during the first 4 years tenure of the current President Rouhani. During the past four years, Iran has benefited greatly from the lifting of international sanctions, and a rejuvenated effort to reestablish diplomatic and commercial ties between Iran and the West. From July 2015, when the nuclear agreement was signed, until the beginning of 2017, dozens of Western trade and diplomatic delegations visited Iran. Several hundred economic Memorandums of Understanding were signed, although rarely were they finalized, like a pending agreement for the sale of 118 Airbus planes to Iran for about $10 billion.
Three underlying forces were in play to reconcile Iran’s traditional economic system with that of the West.
Mohammad-Amin
