Too Soon to See JCPOA Results in National Economy

Araghchi told Mehr on Sunday evening, May 29, that sanctions had been removed; however, “It would be naïve to assume that its effects should be translated into concrete changes and improvements in our economy easily; the damage wrought upon the country by the Iraqi-imposed war [1980-88] wasn’t fixed in four months either,” he emphasized.

“For example, Iran’s oil production cannot immediately regain its pre-sanctions status, and it will be a matter of time, since we were deprived of markets and customers during the time when sanctions bit our economy with full force. The situation is the same for other items, so trade in Persian carpets will have to reattain the level it had before sanctions,” he detailed. “In our absence, Indian, Pakistani, and Chinese carpets have filled the vacuum created by Iran’s exit from the markets. You can apply the situation from oil down to trade and banking, and a host of other fields.”

Araghchi believes that for an economy to repair and recreate itself requires time and patience. “We should allocate a reasonable time to recover from the shock of sanctions and rebuild our economy. On top of these difficulties, add sabotage by other governments hostile or reluctant to renewed Iranian presence in global markets and trade, which has contributed to the failure of sanctions removal in revealing its effects during four months. However, we have been making efforts to face these difficulties to regain our place.”