As deal is agreed with US, not all in Iran are convinced that peace is here
Tehran, Iran – The world let out a collective sigh of relief when the United States and Iran announced that a memorandum of understanding had been agreed to end nearly four months of hostilities on Sunday. But on the streets of Tehran – exhausted by years of sanctions and tension
Tehran, Iran – The world let out a collective sigh of relief when the United States and Iran announced that a memorandum of understanding had been agreed to end nearly four months of hostilities on Sunday. But on the streets of Tehran – exhausted by years of sanctions and tensions – the ceasefire announcement has done little to instill confidence that the crisis is over.
An agreement between the two sides, to be signed on Friday , looks set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz , largely controlled by Iran since the war began on February 28, something it is hoped will stabilise rattled energy markets. In return, the US will lift a naval blockade on Iran’s southern ports, which has squeezed Iran’s already embattled economy.
Many important and delicate issues still remain to be addressed, such as the future of Iran’s nuclear programme, US sanctions, and Tehran’s frozen assets. These will likely be deferred until a later date, leading to pessimism among many in Iran that a long-term resolution will ever be finalised.
“I think the agreement doesn’t have huge benefits for the people because it won’t be really enforced in full to bring any stability to our lives,” said Parisa, a university student based in Tehran, who used just her first name for security reasons. “It might work for now, but both sides will jeopardise it based on their own interests.”
Mehdi, another resident of the capital, said he is not optimistic that a ceasefire will hold long term due to the number of contested issues that still remain unresolved.
“I don’t think that the US is willing to accept even the least of Iran’s demands,” he said.
Iranians say that before a potential long-term deal is realised, harsh US and United Nations sanctions – which have made Iran poorer and isolated its businesses from global markets – will need to be lifted. There is the issue of the billions of dollars of frozen overseas Iranian assets and Tehran’s demand for a fee for ships to cross the Strait of Hormuz. The US and much of the world insist on toll-free passage through the waterway.
A memorandum of understanding was reached despite recent exchanges of fire between Iran and the US, and Israeli opposition to the deal. Israel’s bombing of the Beirut suburbs on Sunday, which has been a red line for Tehran, threatened to disrupt work on the agreement and return the region to conflict.
