Tehran to Alter Economic and Political Landscape of Middle East

Businesses from around the world will flock to Tehran, as Iran has one of the most lucrative and promising markets in terms of future growth, Fabien Baussart, President of the Center of Political and Foreign Affairs (CPFA), a think-tank, told Sputnik in an interview.

Last month, Iran and the P5+1 group signed a historic agreement that ensures the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear program. As a result, Iran has been released from economic sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN).

With these changes taking place, Iran will now open up new business and trade opportunities.

“Naturally, a number of businessmen and politicians will rush to Tehran… some believe that the total value of potential contracts in Iran could reach $200 billion,” Baussart told Sputnik.

Furthermore, the end of the sanctions also means that Iran is no longer a “rogue” state in international politics. The world has got itself a powerful player in the Middle East.

Although nobody knows exactly what Iran’s position will be during the settlement of the Syrian conflict, Tehran could drastically shift the balance of power in the Middle East, Baussart said.

When asked whether US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for doing an outstanding job in forging the Iranian nuclear agreement, the French expert said he doesn’t agree with the intentions of the Nobel Prize committee.

At least three other people, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, also deserve the praise.

“If the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to these five personalities, that would be the best representation of the reality,” Baussart concluded.