Iran Sanctions Resonsible for Part of EU Unemployment Rate

(FNA)- Iran's new Ambassador to Poland and former Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast called the western sanctions against Tehran as a two-edged sword, saying the embargoes should be blamed for increased rate of unemployment in the European states.

"Most of the foreign countries which limited or cut their economic relations (with Iran) under the political pressures have sustained heavy losses," Mehman-Parast told FNA on Tuesday.

"These countries' firms are upset with this situation because they have sustained much loss from the sanctions and heightened inflation and unemployment rates in certain European states are the result of their limited economic activities in countries like Iran," he added.

Mehman-Parast referred to the talks between Iran and the world powers which started after the two struke a deal in November to settle their differences over Tehran nuclear program, and said many companies are waiting for the result of the negotiations to revive their economic and trade ties with Iran.

In relevant remarks late April, Austria's visiting Foreign Minister Sebastain Kurz said he is unhappy with the harms that European, specially Austrian, companies have sustained due to the sanctions against Iran, and hoped that the talks between Tehran and the world powers would result in the removal of these embargos.

"It is completely clear that we, as a member of the EU, sustain loss due to the sanctions and the Austrian companies also have the same idea," Kurz said in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran at the time.

By supporting and imposing sanctions, the US has been seeking hard to dissuade other countries from expanding trade, investment and economic cooperation with Iran.

But, many world countries, including the US allies, have been sending state and private sector delegates to Iran to explore ways of expanding trade ties and exchanges irrespective of the US sanctions.

European companies are making increasing demands for cooperation with Iran after Tehran and the world powers struck a deal in November which removes sanctions against the country.

Many European countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, are planning to enhance their economic relations with Iran, a business powerhouse in the Middle East region, as sanctions imposed against Tehran are partially suspended.

"Optimism is predominating that there has finally been something of a relaxation in political relations and therefore in business possibilities," Head of Trade Relations at the Association of German Chambers of Commerce Volker Treier said late in January.

The association invited the representatives of German private sectors to hold a meeting over doing business in Iran and the interested representatives “filled the room very quickly”, Treier added.

Dutch ambassador to Iran Jos Douma held a similar meeting in the Netherlands in January to discuss the terms of cooperation between Tehran and the Dutch companies which are eager to return to the Iranian market.

Paris is also sending the executive representatives of around 100 French firms to Tehran for "exploratory" negotiations with Iranian officials in a bid to tap into the potential for mutual economic cooperation between the two sides.

On January 20, Iran and the six powers started the implementation of the historic nuclear deal which the two sides struck in the Swiss city of Geneva on November 24, 2013.

After endorsing the agreement with the world powers, Zarif underlined that the six world powers have recognized Iran’s enrichment program.

As part of the deal, in exchange for Iran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the six world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran.