WASHINGTON (AFP) -
US
President Barack Obama said Friday that world powers should carry out
their end of the Iran nuclear deal and allow companies to do business in
the Islamic republic.
"So long as Iran is carrying out its end of
the bargain, we think it is important for the world community to carry
out our end of the bargain," he said after a nuclear security summit
with other world leaders.
This year, the international community
lifted a raft of sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country curbing
its controversial nuclear program.
But this month, Iran's Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Washington of failing to respect
the terms of the agreement.
Meanwhile, international businesses
have been cautious about returning to do business in Iran, fearing that
they could fall afoul of continuing US sanctions aimed at Tehran's other
non-nuclear policies.
"What I would say is also important is
Iran's own behavior in generating confidence that Iran is a safe place
to do business," Obama said.
The US president said Treasury
Secretary Jacob Lew and his counterparts within the P5+1 nations that
negotiated the deal with Iran would be "providing clarity to businesses
about what transactions are in fact allowed."
"And it is going to
take time over the next several months for companies and their legal
department to feel confident... there may not be risks of liability if
they do business with Iran.
"But the spirit of the agreement
involves Iran also sending signals to the world community of businesses
that it is not going to be engaging in a range of provocative action
that might scare business off," he said.
"When they launch ballistic missiles with slogans calling for the destruction of Israel, that makes businesses nervous."
The
limited polls that are conducted in Iran show skepticism about the
country's economic situation following decades of sanctions.
A
host of non-nuclear sanctions related to terrorism sponsorship,
ballistic missile programs and a crackdown on demonstrators remain in
place.
According to a CISSM and IranPoll.com survey released
Thursday, Iranians have a less favorable impression of the country's
economic situation now than they did before the deal came into effect in
January.
While a majority of those polled back deeper economic
engagement with the West, almost 70 percent do not believe the United
States will meet its promises under the agreement.
Officials say
that even with sanctions lifted, US and other non-Iranian companies have
been reluctant to do business with Iran for fear of getting tangled in a
thicket of US regulations.
© 2016 AFP
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