Interview with an international symposium panelist Part 1: Mr. Nobuhisa Degawa, NHK Senior Commentator

My participation in this international symposium means I have visited Iran three times over the last six months. The previous visit was in February this year to cover the country's parliamentary elections. Iran had been in international isolation for 37 long years since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Economic sanctions against the country are gradually being lifted following the final agreement on Iran's nuclear deal with six world powers including Europe and the United States in July last year. Amidst this change, European countries and many others including South Korea and China are vying for the opportunity to enter into the Iranian market and engage in the importation and development of the country's energy resources including oil and natural gas.

With Iran rapidly becoming part of international society and repairing its relations with western nations, I directed my attention, during this visit, to how Iran's diplomacy and public mentality are changing. What impressed me most was Iran's confidence, or Iran's enthusiasm to come out of international isolation and show the new Iran to the rest of the world as a regional power with strong presence.

Last year, the Iranian government led by President Hassan Rouhani and the U.S. Obama administration reached a final agreement on the issue of Iran's nuclear program through political negotiations, defying earlier assumption that the issue would be extremely difficult to resolve. In the parliamentary elections held in February this year, the reformist and moderate Iranian politicians allied with President Hassan Rouhani significantly increased their seats. The result was a clear indication that many citizens support President Rouhani's moderate and realistic policy line, willing to engage in dialogs with western countries and cooperate with them wherever possible so as to bring Iran back into the fold of international society. Yet, that does not mean that Iran and the United States would bury the hatchet so easily and move toward mending their relationship, e.g. restoring their diplomatic ties.

With the nuclear agreement, Iranian leaders want to see the economic sanctions completely lifted, in order to bring an upturn to its economy and people's standard of living. Yet, some questions remain on whether the economic sanctions would really be lifted, allowing Iran to freely trade with other countries. For example, I suspect European banks are cautious about trading with Iran due to the continued U.S. financial sanctions against Iran as well as pressure from the United States. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei chose to refer to this issue on March 20 during his address to the nation marking the Iranian New Year.

The U.S. Presidential Election will be held in November this year. The Republican candidate Donald Trump has publicly pledged to tear up the nuclear agreement with Iran if he is elected. That is why Iran is holding its breath as it closely monitors the course of the presidential race.

By around June next year, Iranians will also go to the polls to choose their new President. It remains to see if President Rouhani will be re-elected. The Rouhani administration's moderate policy line and the nuclear agreement have given the people of Iran strong expectations that their economy and standard of living will improve. The government's failure to meet the expectations could lower the support rating of President Rouhani, giving conservative hardliners a chance to regain a foothold. Iran's future direction is affected by many uncertain factors, such as the result of the U.S. Presidential election and progress in the lifting of economic sanctions.

Even after the Islamic Revolution, Iran has seen Japan as a good partner it can trust. Japan and Iran maintained diplomatic ties and did not have any bilateral dispute even when Iran was in international isolation and tense confrontation with the United States and Europe. This international symposium has given Iranian participants an opportunity to re-acknowledge this fact. I felt Iran's strong expectations for increased cooperation from Japan in a variety of fields including the environment, education and energy development.

See here for the summary of the international symposium "Promoting Active Particilpation of Women, Peace and Sustainable Development."
Click here to visit the website for the Sasakawa Middle East Islam Fund.