Iran Nuclear Talks: The Latest Report

Iran Nuclear Talks: The Latest Report

            As mentioned in the previous blog, in late of January 2014, Iran and the U.N. Security Council made an interim agreement in regards to Iran's nuclear program; whereby, Iran complied to the demands of the Western Powers by decreasing their original amount of enriched uranium.  Recently, on March 18th, a U.N. meeting was held in Vienna to discuss the current status of the parties' temporary indenture that will be ending as of June 20th.  Reporters from USA Today as well as the New York Times, have both concluded that the outcome of the Vienna Conference was positive and "hopeful" (Madhani).  The International Atomic Energy Agency, which overlooks Iran's nuclear production, has confirmed that the middle-eastern nation was meeting its commitments under the six-month deal.  "The report said that the enrichment of uranium to [medium levels] had stopped, and that a part of Iran's stockpile of that uranium [is being down-blended, and the remainder is being converted to uranium oxide,] as the deal requires" (Senators).  The March conference in Vienna was considerably successful, and a follow-up meeting is scheduled for April 7th.

             The F5+1 (Britain, France, Russia, United States, China, plus Germany) and Iran have all benefited economically since the initiative was implemented in January.  In return, for respecting the requirements made by the U.N.; previous sanctions which have inhibited much of Iran's economic growth have been alleviated.  Over the past three months, Iran has been able to some of the $4.2 billion of restricted reserve funds, and if both sides remain compliant; the country will have access to the full sum by the end of Spring (Erlanger).  Due to the loosening of some trade restrictions in the petrochemical, precious metals, and auto industries; Iran will be expected to increase its GDP by 1% in 2015 (Madhani).  According to managing director of Turquoise Partners, Ramin Rabii, "If sanctions are reduced, it will open up this untapped market, one of the few untapped markets on the planet, to foreign investors.  There will be huge interest.  It's not clear of course what a deal will look like, but if there is a deal there will be a huge flow of investment in Iran" (Gewirtz).

            Petroleum is by far the most utilized fuel source on the planet, and Iran debatably, has roughly 10% of the world's oil.  Unbeknownst to most, the sanctions against Iran impact people on a global level currently. Economist researcher Trevor Houser, has detailed that in the scenario that all sanctions were lifted, the price of oil would drop significantly, however, the possibility of this happening soon is very unlikely.  Though the U.N. has initiated plans for new agreement after June 20th, many influencing parties are in opposition.  Some members of the United States Congress have expressed their criticisms of the international appeasement of Iran's sanctions, because they believe that with a better economy Iran will be less fearful in the future; if there were new the threat of economic sanctions.   

            Besides opposition in Washington, Israel has been an adamantly outspoken criticizer of the Iranian/U.N. sanction-appeasement agreement.  During the March 18th meeting, the Israeli government made a statement about Iran's current compliance, arguing that the interim agreement did not make "any change in Iran's nuclear program"(Erlanger).  The report concluded that, "for a civilian nuclear program there is no need for centrifuges and no need for a heavy-water reactor" (Erlanger).  Heavy-water reactors are a necessary component for cooling and moderating the nuclear power generated, while centrifuges turn uranium ore into uranium oxide.  In response to Israel's accusation that Iran is enriching uranium to create nuclear weapons; Iran  confirmed that no new heavy-water reactors have been built since the following year, which obeys the standards made during U.N. negotiations.  Iran has insisted that its nuclear power program is entirely for the purpose of alternative energy rather than nuclear weapons.  Two-thirds of the Iranian population urge for the continuation of the country's nuclear program (Gewirtz). 

            Although Israel takes a strong stance on the matter, not everyone's position is merely black and white. Russia for instance, although in favor of a slow approach to the removal of sanctions, has not expressed the worries presented by other nations.  Unlike the other powerhouse influences of the U.N., Russia did not impose additional sanctions other than what was already implemented by the Security Council (Maloney).  We must remember that the United States has a rocky history with Iran, considering that long ago, the U.S. eradicated Iran's first democratic process.  Russia's conviction, that in the hypothetical circumstance Iran creates nuclear bombs, the Eastern European nation will undoubtedly be upset but eventually accepting (Maloney).  Russia claims that their relationship with Iran is fairly neutral and similar to that of United States' relations with Pakistan. 

              Russia itself also sparks fears, as some American politicians are wary, that due to the recent discrepancies between the United States and Russia in the matter of the Ukraine, Russia will no longer be a supporter of U.N. sanctions of  Iran.  Fortunately, no such hostility surfaced during the meeting between the two Western nations as they consider the Iran-issue to be a separate conflict entirely.  In fact, sanctions are in the best interest of the Russian economy since the U.S. is more reliant on Russian oil rather than Iranian petrol (Maloney).    

Citations

Senators urge Obama to stand firm over Iran nuclear talks. (n.d.). Retrieved   March 26, 2014,   from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/22/senators-barack-obama-letter-            iran-nuclear-talks

Maloney, S. (n.d.). Three Reasons Why Russia Won't Wreck the Iran Nuclear Negotiations.       Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/iran-at-         saban/posts/2014/03/22-russia-us-tension-sabotage-iran-nuclear-deal 

Rubin, A. J., & Gladstone, R. (2014, March 18). West Sees Unity on Iran Despite Crisis in        Ukraine. Retrieved March 25, 2014, from           http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/world/europe/iran-nuclear-talks.html?_r=0 

Erlanger, S. (2014, February 20). Iran and 6 Powers Agree on Terms for Nuclear Talks.              Retrieved March 25, 2014, from             http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/world/middleeast/iran.html 

Madhani, A. (2014, January 20). U.S., EU begin sanctions relief for Iran. Retrieved March 26,  2014, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/01/20/iran-sanctions-       relief-begins/4666765/ 

Gewirtz, J. (2014, February 21). Iran stocks are booming, and nuclear talks are why. Retrieved  March 26, 2014, from http://www.cnbc.com/id/101435858 

Davenport, A. (2013, August 2). The Empty Threat of Iran Sanctions. Retrieved March 26, 2014,            from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/08/02/the-empty-threat-of-     sanctions-over-irans-nuclear-program 

Lakshmanan, I. A.R., & Loder, A. (2013, November 7). Iran Loses Nuclear Leverage as World I              Ignores Export Drop. Retrieved March 25, 2014, from  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-07/ iran-loses-nuclear-leverage-as-world- ignores-export-drop.html