Dubai: The United States has not discouraged foreign companies from doing business with Iran following the lifting of nuclear sanctions in January, a US negotiator who worked on the deal said on Wednesday.
Two months on after the deal, companies have been slow to enter Iran, with many believed to be shying away out of fear of falling afoul over other sanctions that have not been removed. There is also perceived ambiguity over what transactions are now allowed.
But Chris Backemeyer, the negotiator, said it comes as no surprise that companies are taking their time, citing the need for risk evaluation and due diligence. He said the US has been clear on its position and has made it known what sanctions have been lifted.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the United States this week of not holding up their part of deal, complaining that banks are not processing transactions because they “fear the Americans”.
“The Americans have not acted on their promises and [only] removed the sanctions on paper,” he said in a televised address on Sunday, according to a Reuters report.
Committed
Backemeyer, Principal Deputy Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the US State Department, said it is “patently false” that the US doesn’t want anyone doing business with Iran.
“The United States is 100 per cent committed to its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). We’ve done everything we said we’re going to do and we are making the extra effort to go and explain as much as we can because we believe it is important that the US be viewed as a good faith partner in this effort,” he told reporters at a Dubai hotel.
But while Backemeyer said the US has done everything to reassure foreign companies he also said “it’s not my job to encourage” trade with Iran.
“We have lifted all the sanctions that we said we would and all the sanctions that had previously provided impediments to most of the non-US companies that could be doing business in most of Iran’s economic sector,” he said.
Ballistic missile programme
A series of international sanctions, including American and European, related to Iran’s nuclear programme were lifted on January 17, known as Implementation Day. Other US and United Nations Security Council related to Iran’s ballistic missile programme have not been lifted.
US State Department officials, including Backemeyer, have been visiting countries in the Middle East, Europe and Asia since Implementation Day speaking to governments, companies and lawyers about the agreement. In the UAE, Backemeyer said he has spoken on round tables attended by local and foreign companies from the banking, transportation and energy sectors. The companies are mostly asking questions on due diligence.
There have also been questions over the “snapback” mechanism of the deal that allows the sanctions to be immediately reapplied if Iran is found to be in breach of the agreement. The mechanism is there as a deterrent and not “some secret way of reimposing sanctions,” Backemeyer said.
“The point I’ve made to many of these companies is [that] snapback is not something that is imminent … As long as Iran complies with its nuclear commitments we are not going to reimpose sanctions.”
Embargo
But while the lifting of nuclear sanctions has opened opportunities in Iran to many foreign companies, Backemeyer admitted US firms are at a disadvantage because of the US embargo that has not been lifted.
“We continue to have sanctions that are intended to counteract their ballistic missile activities. That is something that is not going to change,” he said.
There are exceptions for US companies, including a favourable licensing policy for the provision of US origin aircraft and permitting imports of Iranian foodstuffs and handicrafts. The favourable licensing policy for the provision of US aircraft means a US plane maker has been allowed to talk to Iranian airliners.
Boeing will be required to apply for another licence to enter into the technical aspects of sales discussions and to sell aircraft to Iran but Backemeyer said that licence would “likely” be granted “absent any compelling reason not to”.
