TEHRAN: Iran’s nuclear deal sealed with world powers can be used as a model to resolve regional issues, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, a day after international sanctions against the country were lifted.
Speaking at a news conference broadcast live on state television, Rouhani also criticised arch-foe Saudi Arabia, saying that Riyadh was the source of its problems with Tehran and urged the kingdom to change its regional behaviour.
Rouhani said he expected Iran’s economy to grow by 5 percent in the next Iranian fiscal year which starts in March and added that Tehran and Washington would not fully restore their economic ties following the nuclear deal.
Rouhani said sceptics who had warned a nuclear deal with world powers would not bring benefits to Iran “were all proven wrong”.
“Within a few hours” of the nuclear deal being implemented and sanctions lifted “1,000 lines of credit were opened by various banks,” Rouhani told reporters in Tehran.
“This showed that those who used to say, ‘do not believe’ were mistaken,” he said, stressing the deal would now make it easier for Iranian businesses to operate after years of being frozen out of the international financial system.
“Today we are in an atmosphere where we can have political, economic and legal interaction with the world to the benefit of our national interests,” the president said. “We believe in our national strength. We believe in our nation’s success,” he added.
The remarks were a riposte to doubters who say that the diplomatic success of the nuclear deal will not translate into concrete economic benefits for Iran’s economy.
Rouhani staked his presidency on the nuclear talks, deepening the diplomacy which involved Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany after taking office in August 2013.
Only last week he said Iranians should look forward to a “year of prosperity” after sanctions are lifted.
Rouhani also hit out at Saudi Arabia’s criticism of the nuclear deal, citing an unnamed official who said the removal of sanctions was a bad development.
“On the day of implementation we saw one Saudi official expressed regret that Iran’s economic problems have been solved,” the Iranian president said.
“A neighbour would never behave this way. A Muslim would never act this way. A Muslim would not be upset over another Muslim’s comfort. Muslims are all brothers,” he said.
Following the kingdom’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr on January 2, Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran was ransacked - an act condemned by Rouhani.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations a day later.
Rouhani said the door was still open to diplomacy but it would not stay open forever. “What we want is to resolve regional issues through logic but at the same time, our people, our government will not accept non-diplomatic and inappropriate behaviour,” he said.
“If it’s necessary, a firm response will be given, but we hope... that they will move toward a direction which will be in the interest of the region and their own people.”
Responding to a question, Rouhani said Iran has “opened a new chapter” in its ties with the world.
Rouhani said implementation of the agreement did not harm any country. “We Iranians have reached out to the world... have opened a new chapter in the relations of Iran with the world.”
Iran is “not a threat to any government or nation”. The agreement, he said, “is not a loss for any country”.
Addressing lawmakers in parliament, Rouhani said Iran would seek foreign investment of $30-50 billion annually, to dramatically spur growth to eight percent.
Iran can now resume widespread oil exports, long the lifeblood of its economy though Rouhani has moved away from relying on crude. Less than 25 percent of revenues in this year’s budget will come from oil.
Critics, including US President Barack Obama’s Republican opponents, have poured scorn on the deal, saying it fails to do enough to ensure Iran will never acquire the bomb. Israel, widely assumed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state and Iran’s arch-foe, has repeatedly slammed the agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran “has not relinquished its ambition to obtain nuclear weapons.” And on Sunday he told his cabinet: “Israel’s policy has been and will remain exactly what has been followed: to not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.”
Western governments hailed the announcement as a milestone though some critics alleged that Tehran was still seeking to develop a nuclear weapon. The announcement followed news of a prisoner swap between Iran and the United States that will include the release of Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, in another sign of thawing relations between the longtime foes.
Also on Sunday, the UN Security Council removed the Iranian bank Sepah and its international subsidiary from the UN sanctions blacklist.
Iran’s oldest bank, Bank Sepah and Bank Sepah International, were placed on the sanctions list in 2007 for supporting Iranian firms linked to the development of missile technology.
DEAL, PRISONER SWAP SHOW DIVIDENDS OF DIPLOMACY: OBAMA
President Barack Obama heralded the implementation of a nuclear deal and prisoner swap with Iran as a victory for diplomacy that would advance US interests and potentially spark more cooperative relations between Tehran and the world.
Speaking after Americans who had been imprisoned and freed by Iran had left the country (Later they reached Geneva), Obama said Iran now would not “get its hands on a nuclear bomb” and the planet would be more secure.
“This is a good day because, once again, we’re seeing what’s possible with strong American diplomacy,” Obama said at the White House. “These things are a reminder of what we can achieve when we lead with strength and with wisdom.”
His remarks were an implicit rebuke to Republicans, who have criticized the president, a Democrat, for his engagement with a country that has long been an enemy of the United States.
“We released seven terrorists who had helped Iran with their nuclear programme, and we agreed not to prosecute another 14 terrorists for doing the same thing,” Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said on Fox News Sunday.
“That’s 21 terrorists helping Iran develop nuclear weapons that they intend to use to try to murder us.”
The president said the United States still had profound differences with Iran and would continue to enforce sanctions over its ballistic missile programme, violations of human rights and support of terrorism.
“We remain steadfast in opposing Iran’s destabilizing behaviour elsewhere, including its threats against Israel and our Gulf partners, and its support for violent proxies in places like Syria and Yemen,” he said.
Obama described the release of six Iranian-Americans and one Iranian charged in the United States as a “reciprocal, humanitarian gesture” that was a one-time event. The US government would “not rest” until another American citizen, Robert Levinson, who went missing in Iran more than eight years ago, was located, he said.
Obama said he hoped Iran would move into a more cooperative relationship with the world community on the back of this diplomatic breakthrough.
“I am hopeful that this signals the opportunity at least for Iran to work more cooperatively with nations around the world to advance their interests and the interests of people who are looking for peace and security for their families,” he said.