Recently the US government issued a license allowing South Korea and Japan to repay their debts to Iran in a non-cash form but in the form of goods from these countries or third countries.
On this subject, the state-run daily Jahan-e-Sanat on July 15 wrote: “(Washington) Free Beacon reported that the US State Department informed Congress late Tuesday that it would lift some of the trade sanctions to gain access to Iran.
The purpose of this waiver, signed by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, means the transfer of Iranian funds in limited accounts to exporters in Japan and the Republic of Korea. The State Department, meanwhile, has said it will not allow funds to be transferred to Iran and will only allow repayments of Japanese and Korean companies that exported non-sanctioned goods and services before the US administration tightened US sanctions.”
And the media affiliated with the faction of the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani reacted in two different ways to the action of the US government.
Some of them called it the revival of the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) and a positive sign from the US government, and some of them watched this event with skepticism and even concern.
Because what has raised the concern of even state media is not the release of these funds, but the corruption that has penetrated in the entire regime’s government, and the fate of any fund and money coming into the country is ambiguous.
Regarding the ambiguity of this issue, Aftab-e-Yazd newspaper in an article titled ‘These should be told to the people’ wrote:
“What is the exact story of this blocked money and why people and society should not rely too much on it!” (Aftab-e-Yazd daily, July 15, 2021)
This short expression is a clear statement about corruption and that the people will not gain anything from this money.
Regarding the maneuvers of the government with this fund, this media added: “We wished that the gentlemen of the new and old governments do not maneuver so much on this money. This is the unreasonable provocation of society. If the JCPOA is revived, no money will run into the country, but the doors may be opened for investment to some extent. With optimism maybe tomorrow Biden will have a stroke and Trump will come again and say I do not accept the JCPOA.
“The JCPOA, Trump, internal barriers in Iran, etc. are bitter experiences that no powerful foreign investor is willing to repeat. These must be told to the people. Is this right?” (Aftab-e-Yazd daily, July 15, 2021)
Jahan-e-Sanat newspaper quoted a government expert named Ali Bigdeli as saying that he is less hopeful about allowing Iran access to its money. “He said: ‘What has been said in the news about the exchange of blocked Iranian money is actually about the joy they show, but it cannot be very pleased. Let us not forget that the recent orientation of the Americans shows that they are frustrated with the negotiations with Iran and are likely to take other paths.
“They seem to be forming a new front in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. This front consists of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Egypt, and if it is formed, it will be very dangerous for us because it will put us in political and economic isolation in the region.”
Jahan-e-Sanat newspaper, while calling the American action insignificant and calling it a ‘gleam of hope’, considered it unnecessary to show this action as a big deal and wrote in this regard:
“As some people think, the dollars are not on the way for Iran to spend it for its wishes and its daily needs.”
Then this media about the expectations of the US government contrary to this action said: “As in the old times said, what goes around comes around. If the US has opened the pocket for us and with a little flexibility, it allows us to use our money, it has definitely expectations, expectations that must have a positive answer, to lead to the settlement of cases and the agreement in Vienna.”
Although this media has not given a clear explanation about these expectations, the US officials have made it clear since the start of the JCPOA talks that the 2015 JCPOA alone is not enough for them and that the regime must negotiate its missile program, regional policy, and human rights.
