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July 2015 - Vol 21 - Issue 260
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Iranians and their hopes for an end to sanctions Some in Tehran believe lifting of sanctions would have profound implications, but Iran will not pay any price for a deal Ian Black - The Guardian In the dazzling heat of a Tehran morning, the city’s carpet museum is a mercifully cool haven of magnificent specimens of Iran’s cultural heritage. Yet even here, among woven wonders from Isfahan, Mashhad and Kerman, the shadow of the sanctions imposed on the country as a result of its nuclear programme falls – as hopes grow for an agreement that will ease years of pain. Nahid, wearing an obligatory headscarf
and modest belted tunic, is busy repairing the tassels of an exquisite red and black Persian rug spread out on a wooden table. The museum, however, is deserted. Tourists are few and far between, though those who do come leave generous compliments in the visitors book. “It has got easier for foreigners,” the young woman explains. “But it will surely improve more when sanctions are lifted.” Halfway through Ramadan, with temperatures in the high 30s, the capital’s air heavily polluted and traffic permanently gridlocked, Tehranis have plenty on their minds, but people from all walks of life understand that the stakes are high in the Vienna nuclear negotiations.
Back then there was euphoria. Many took selfies against a backdrop of TV screens showing Barack Obama, the leader of a nation whose officials have not set foot in this city in the 35 years since the revolution. Now the mood is more guarded. Expectations reflect the sharp political divisions of the Islamic Republic and some clearly fear saying the wrong thing and incurring official displeasure. “Yes, I am optimistic,” says Mohamedreza, a well-heeled executive who drives an expensive Mercedes. “I am sure western governments want to ease sanctions.” Few people are willing to give their full names to a visiting western journalist with a rare visa.
Mohamed Javad Zarif, the foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator, is the hero of the reformist camp. He is feted as a savvy diplomat who deals on equal terms with the US secretary of state, John Kerry. Zarif is associated with the president, Hassan Rouhani, whose election two years ago ended the rule of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the master of a vulgar populism that many found repugnant and that worsened Iran’s isolation. Still, only a few of Monday’s daily newspapers carry the nuclear talks as their main story. Ebtekar, a privately owned paper, goes for a dramatic “One step to agreement” headline. Iran, a government paper, publishes a drier report PLEASE GO TO PAGE 48