Araghchi stresses US failure in spoiling world’s post-Geneva opportunities for mending ties with Iran

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and senior negotiator Seyyed Abbas Araghchi underlined that the US has failed to prevent the world states from taking the opportunities which arose after the endorsement of the Geneva interim deal for expanding ties and cooperation with Iran.

“[After the Geneva agreement] all countries were deeply interested to have relations with Iran and this was so scary for the Americans that they declared to the entire world that the sanctions are still in place and only a part of the restrictions against Iran have been suspended based on what was agreed in Geneva, but I believe that this [the US policy] has proved unsuccessful to a large degree,” Araghchi said on Saturday.

“Anyway, with this (Geneva) agreement, the world came to realize that Iran’s nuclear negotiations and the process to reach an agreement were coming to an end and the atmosphere and (propaganda) attacks launched by the Westerners in this case were falling apart,” he added.

In relevant remarks in December, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that a large number of foreign companies are waiting for a comprehensive deal between Tehran and P5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) to rush for investment in the Iranian market.

“Hundreds of foreign companies have prepared themselves to enter Iran in the coming months,” President Rouhani said, addressing a large crowd of people in Golestan Province, in northern Iran.

The Iranian president reiterated that Iran would reach a final deal with the West over its nuclear program as the country was moving on the path of constructive interaction with the world.

“You should not have any doubt that P 5+1, the Western world, the Eastern world and the region are all in need of constructive interaction with Iran,” President Rouhani added.

Also on Friday, a senior energy official announced that a large number of European and Asian companies had voiced their willingness to invest in Iran’s gas projects.

“Many companies from France, Britain, Germany, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia have announced that they are enthusiastic to invest in Iran’s gas projects,” Head of Investment Committee of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Asghar Soheilipour said.

He noted that NIGC needed $30 billion to complete its projects, and said, “We are ready to cooperate with domestic and foreign investors in this regard.”