Frances ambassador to the US Gerard Araud says critics of the Iranian gold rush should recall that Irans neighbors and its traditional trading partners in Europe have suffered far more from the sanctions than their American counterparts.
Really, we lost a lot of money, not the Americans, he said. So stop taking the high moral ground. European businessmen are not more greedy than the American ones and not less either, he said at the Atlantic Council forum.
Hence, both sides have their eyes on the ball and the Americans are keeping the tabs on the delegates visiting Tehran to scope out prospects.
The Washington Times has the list of Italian oil executives visit Tehran, scouting out deals, French farmers and fisheries discussing technological exchanges and India developing a major Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman.
Irans oil easy to access and cheap to extract is a big draw, but its not the only one, the paper said, citing Russia which said this week it has given six Iranian food concerns the right to export dairy and poultry products to the country.
The Times said the enthusiasm for deals could prove a political headache for the Obama administration, because the more deals that are struck in the wake of a deal, the more difficult it will be to cut them off later on.
But the interest in the Iranian market shows little sign of slowing, it said.
If you go to Iran today, you find that there is an appetite for a lot of Western products, it quoted Peter Westmacott, Britains ambassador to the US, as saying at the Atlantic Council forum this week.
It is not surprising that a lot of companies would like to do business in Iran. It has great potential, resources and natural wealth. At the right moment, companies will start looking at that again.
Peter Wittig, Germanys ambassador to Washington, said at the same forum that there was great potential in the opening up of the Iranian economy as he advised caution.
Earlier this week, Der Spiegel said the federal government expects a strong increase in German exports to Iran if sanctions against Tehran are removed.
Several German delegations, including industry owners and investors, have visited Iran in recent weeks.
Even some US companies are elbowing for space as anticipation is building.
ExxonMobil Corp. had to play down a Bloomberg report this month that is had hired lobbyists to push the envelope on Iran sanctions with the government, saying it was merely trying to keep up with the latest policy shifts.
Exxons rivals are going even further. Claudio Descalzi, chief executive of Italys Eni SpA, traveled to Tehran earlier this month to discuss freeing company funds that were frozen in Iran and to discuss the possibility of future deals if the sanctions come down.
The US oil giant is intrigued by some of its rivals sojourns in Tehran, including by CEO of Italys Eni SpAs Claudio Descalzi who traveled to the Iranian capital earlier this month.
Iranian expatriates are encouraged. Some 2,000 members of the diaspora plan to gather in Berlin next month for the iBridges conference to explore opportunities to invest in Irans high-tech industries.
At home, the government is lining up a series of incentives to attract expatriates for investment.
By Press TV
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