"US won't be successful in deterring multinationals from doing business with Iran"

"US won't be successful in deterring multinationals from doing business with Iran"(Taz).

After Iran and the P5+1 group reached an agreement regarding Iran's nuclear status on Nov. 24, the Islamic Republic agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities for six months in return for some relief on the sanctions imposed by the international community.

Following this change in policy, international companies started expressing their interest in doing business with Iran once again. Iran, in turn, continues to try and draw in foreign companies, encouraging them to return, invest, and receive benefits.

The advice from the U.S. on the other hand to foreign companies is not to get too excited over what might appear to be positive outcome in the negotiations. As cautioned Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Sherman last Feb. 4, "Iran is not open for business."

Explained the State Department official; "Since sanctions relief is temporary, quite limited and quite targeted." Sherman also warned that the US told the companies who want to start dealing with Iran again that "they are putting their reputations, themselves and their business enterprises at risk..."

Teaching fellow of the Department of Politics and International Studies of SOAS (University of London), Dr. Shirin Shafaie believes that to understand and assess current US approach towards Iran and the most recent nuclear deal, one should consider the wider historical context of US-Iran relations.

Coming back to what Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said with regard to companies considering doing business with Iran, Shafaie said her comments are perfectly in line with the US historical policy towards Iran.

"Mrs. Sherman is trying to make clear to these companies that the US is not interested in making a genuine deal with Iran; that her country has no intention of acknowledging and respecting Iranian national independence and sovereignty," Shafaie said. "Therefore she is politely asking them not to get too excited about the US tactical and most probably short-term change of attitude vis-à-vis Iran."

"Perhaps she is giving them clues as what is to follow the recent nuclear deal, i.e. "temporary, quite limited and quite targeted" sanctions relief in return for long-term limitations on Iran's nuclear energy program," Shafaie noted. "Moreover, the Western coercive measures are likely to continue until the day when Iran's national independence and by extension its indigenous nuclear energy program become virtually non-existent."

Shafaie said that in other words Mrs. Sherman might be warning businesses about the long duration of this process which will nevertheless need to contain short episodes of seemingly genuine negotiations, even some initially promising deals, in order for the process to be sustainable in the long term.

"Thus, according to the US government, these momentarily episodes should not be mistaken for a real change in the US approach towards Iran and the American wider agenda for the region," she said.

"Having said that, I do not think that the US government will be very successful in deterring international companies from doing business with Iran for much longer," she suggested. "The US is simply not in a position to dictate who can do what throughout the world."Read the full story here.