Rouhani’s Diplomacy Fuels Hope for Rapprochement with West

Investors Hoping to See Sanctions Lifted

Hawks are trying to downplay the prospect of rapprochement with Iran pretty heavily these days, pushing the idea that President Hassan Rouhani is playing some sort of elaborate trick on everyone seemingly out of spite.

The dramatic shift in rhetoric is palpable, however, and Rouhani’s calls for mutual respect seem to be winning him a lot of favor, and making it awfully hard for Western officials to keep up the old system of hostility.

Big money investors are also putting weight behind Rouhani’s push, betting heavily on the idea that a rapprochement can be reached and international sanctions might be lifted soon.

After years of sanctions have undermined the nation’s economy, the prospect of oil-rich Iran returning to the stage of world trade has many salivating about the profits to be made, and Iranian civilians facing shortages because of the embargoes hoping that goods could soon flow once again.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.