Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is hoping to get more political leverage as economic sanctions were lifted from Iran regarding the nuclear deal with world powers. The nuclear agreement is causing political tensions in Iran as oppositionists denounced the deal.
After entering a nuclear deal with world leaders, Iran is now relieved of harsh international sanctions that crippled its economy. The country can now conduct trade freely with Asia and Europe.
Iran President Hassan Rouhani, the one who promoted the deal, saw the agreement as a way for him to get more political influence and support in his country. However, USAToday reported that Rouhani was not pleased with the political payout gained from the nuclear deal. However, he called the lifting of sanctions a win for the Iranian people.
Rouhani expressed his dismay at the fact that only four of his candidates were approved by the Guardian Council of Iran to run in future parliamentary elections. Vaez said that the four nominees only represent 1% of the total number of candidates.
According to Iranian reporter Rohollah Faghihi, the nuclear deal should boost Rouhani's party in the upcoming elections in Iran. Yet, he added that there will still be those who will fight against it. On the other hand, analyst Ali Vaez said that Rouhani will gain more advantage if parliament powers lean towards his favor. Vaez added that the stakes in the elections are high and if Rouhani fails, he could become "a lame duck president for the rest of his term".
Lawyer Herald previously reported that the nuclear deal brought new U.S. sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program, causing political rifts in the country. Iran said that the sanctions imposed by America were illegitimate. Rouhani called on Brig. Gen Hossein Dehghan to speed up missile production and enhance defense capabilities as retaliation to the new missile penalties.
Following the relieving of economic sanctions on Iran, Inquirer.net reported that the Iranian government plans to increase crude oil export by 500,000 barrels per day. At present, Iran produces 2.8 million barrels of crude oil and only exports around 1 million barrels. Iran's deputy oil minister Rokneddin Javadi said that other countries might get Iran's share if the country does not step up its oil production.
In the following months, over $100 billion of Iranian assets are expected to be unlocked. Iran's economy is predicted to improve after the lifting of sanctions.
