Kaveh Afrasiabi: West seeks to exploit Iran nuclear talks

Press TV has conducted an interview with Kaveh Afrasiabi, author and political scientist from Boston, about Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s recent remarks on a potential nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Why is it that the P5+1, in particular the United States, is insisting on excessive demands – in this case, the inspection of Iran’s military sites?

Afrasiabi: I think they are trying to exploit the situation and make use of the nuclear talks for non-nuclear issues and purposes. And the presentation that was given by President Rouhani, I thought, was very timely comprehensive and policy-oriented that addressed several issues of concern to the Iranian people, addressing the concerns of some people that Iran’s national interest, and particularly national security interest, would not be undermined or jeopardized under the guise of the nuclear talks or any impending nuclear deal. And President Rouhani put those anxieties to rest just as previously the Leader had done so. So, all the Iranian leaders are on record putting their foot down on this issue of excessive demands by the Western nations led by the US, and this thorny issue of the request for access to Iran’s military sites, which as President Rouhani clearly stated is beyond what all the other nations have agreed. I think that the optimistic node in President Rouhani’s speech was also very important that with only a couple of weeks to the deadline, there is progress and possibility of a final deal, and through some prudent diplomacy on both sides, these remaining gaps and differences can hopefully be resolved.

Press TV: Although President Rouhani says he has high hopes of a nuclear deal, but what kind of a scenario do you see if no deal is reached because of these excessive demands? Because Iran has rejected such demands anyway.

Afrasiabi: My hunch is that we will see, just as some other similar military agreements, last-minute breakthroughs that will probably transpire right before the deadline, and both sides will step back from their whatever maximalist demands and make a compromise in order to reach a deal. So, I am also optimistic and I think that we will have a deal by June 30. Nevertheless, if there is a lack of a deal because of these stumbling blocks, most likely there will be an extension - month or two, whatever - that will be devoted to ironing out the differences and reaching a consensus on the final agreement which is being drafted as we speak. So, I think that the plan B if they cannot reach the deadline is to extend it for I do not know how long in order to reach a final deal, but as I said, my hunch is that we will have a deal by the deadline.

Press TV: One of the main issues that is tied to the nuclear talks is Iran’s economy. How do you see Iran’s economy in the near future?

Afrasiabi: To some extent it hinges on whether or not we will have a deal, we will have a faithful implementation of it by the Western nations, and so on. So, there is a lot of ifs and buts and conjectural issues that remain to be seen. Nonetheless, assuming that we will have a deal and we will have sequence of actions by both sides that will translate into the lifting of the sanctions, this will be a boost to the Iranian economy. It will open the possibility for foreign investment in Iran and expansion of trade with the Western nations, Europeans in particular, and so forth. So, on the whole, we should be looking at a lot of positive dividends as a result of the nuclear deal.  

ABN/HSN

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