Al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, Originally posted in Arabic on September 15
Most of the commentaries I read in American newspapers and see on television seem to be optimistic. They suggest that the nuclear deal will create a new era in the world and bring the Iranian people closer to those of the West.
Some pundits, I noticed, even compared the process with Iran to that of China in the 1970’s, when Beijing’s economic openness translated into greater tolerance towards the West. I think this is highly exaggerated.
I do not want to rule out hope for a brighter future, but I do want to put things in their appropriate perspective. The bottom line is that Iran is ruled by religious fanatics. These extremists made it their goal – for several decades now – to isolate the Iranian people from those of the West. They control the Internet, the media, and the press.
More money flowing into Tehran, following the lifting of the sanctions, will not necessarily translate into more wealth for the Iranian people. In fact, new capital is much more likely to reach the hands of the extremists and exacerbate their fanaticism. We will not witness a trickling down effect, wherein gains are invested into improving the lives of the average Iranian.
In recent years, the mullahs in Tehran have spent enormous amounts of money in suspicious projects in the Middle East. All of them had one thing in common: they were aimed at exporting the Iranian agenda into other countries in the region.
With this in mind, I am highly skeptical that the lifting of the sanctions will do anything to improve the ties between the people of Iran and those of America. – Abd al-Rahman al-Rashed