On Sunday, a triumphant President Barack Obama praised a historic
deal with Iran that successfully curbed the country's nuclear program
and paved the way for smaller diplomatic victories like negotiating the swift release of U.S. Navy sailors and of four American prisoners held on vague charges.
"This is a good day," Obama said during a press conference. "Once
again, we’re seeing what’s possible with strong American diplomacy."
But it's not a good day for everyone.
While the news that Iran has fulfilled its obligations
under the landmark nuclear deal provides the Obama administration a
decisive diplomatic win, it has also resulted in the U.S. and Europe lifting strict economic sanctions on the country, quickly sending aftershocks throughout the Middle East and beyond.
Iran, now free to re-establish economic ties with the world and
access $100 billion in frozen assets, has already added to concerns
about collapsing oil prices, increasing tensions in the Middle East and
the all-important fate of McDonald's in Iran (yes, really).
Iran, whose oil output was long restricted by the sanctions, is now
expected to boost its oil production by 500,000 barrels a day, adding to
the overabundance of oil supplies, largely from Saudi Arabia, that
pushed the price of oil below $30 a barrel this week for the first time
in 12 years.
The oil glut has resulted in layoffs at U.S. energy companies and,
combined with the ongoing market collapse in China, has helped drag down
the global stock markets throughout the year to date.
On Sunday, stock markets in the Middle East crashed on news of the expected surge in Iran's oil exports.
That development could also further enflame the combative rhetoric and
mounting tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia just weeks after Saudi
Arabia executed a Shiite cleric popular in Iran.
On the other hand, the lifting sanctions reduce barriers for Western companies to do business in Iran. And as the BBC was first to note, that has raised plenty of speculation about whether McDonald's, the American fast food giant, will open its doors in Iran.
McDonald's, for its part, has had an application available on its
website to open franchises in Iran available for several months, but no
launch date has been determined as of yet.
Not all sanctions have been lifted in Iran, however, as Obama clarified
in his remarks Sunday. In particular, the U.S. has imposed new sanctions
on individuals and companies working to foster Iran's ballistic missile
program.
By: Seth Fiegerman.
Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, Flagship Records.
For The #FacebookTeam