many of the international sanctions that
have strangled Iran's economy over more
than a decade have been lifted following
implementation of the nuclear accord has
the lifting of the sanctions brought the
Islamic Republic in from the cold as a
regional power in the Middle East David
Gardner the FT's international affairs
editor joins me now David what does
implementation they really mean for for
Iran is it a completely different
relationship that Iran can now have with
the US it is a different relationship
and it is one shouldn't underestimate a
golden moment for the Islamic Republic
which has been regarded as a pariah
state of rogue state though but first
seven years probably since 1979 but
above all in the last as you know does
not say that these truly in Vela solid
sanctions have strangled it con amore
dairy no harm I think definitely it is
being seen as an indispensable partner
and player in a region which is in
meltdown and has so many problems I mean
Iran is needed at the table on Syria
Iran cooperates with the US against Isis
in Iraq and in so many other conflictual
situations from Lebanon to Yemen well
it's very interesting that at a time
when the Iranians and the Americans seem
to be working much better together
Iran's relations with its neighbors in
the Arab world have deteriorated yeah
significantly do you think that Iran can
be a stable force in in the region it
has a lot to do to become that I mean to
be regarded as a legitimate regional
power it needs clearly to be seen by
particularly this
hereabouts led by Saudi Arabia to pull
in its haunt to stop being seen as an
aggressive actor taking advantage of the
disintegration because that is the word
of countries such as iraq iraq and syria
for whatever reasons that they started
to disintegrate Iran has tended to work
outside the state outside the
institutions of these countries via
agents such as malicious to advance
their interest but are you expecting the
relationship between Iran and the Sunni
powers of the region to deteriorate even
further after implementation there there
clearly is a feeling on the part of the
Saudis that all this comes at their
expense that has produced in my judgment
a reactive policy but at some point this
may settle if the principal actors in
places such as Saudi Arabia and Iran
because clearly there needs to be some
kind of debt on between these two powers
see it as in their interest to cooperate
against common enemies such as Isis does
we clearly haven't reached that point
far from it as you saw earlier this
month with the execution of shakira and
never the Saudi Shia cleric yeah at the
same time in parallel you have processes
the effort by the Saudis to put together
some sort of viable Syrian opposition
let me ask you about oil prices have
gone down to 28 even below 28 today what
do you think the longer term impact of
Iran's returned to the markets is going
to be I think there are two aspects is
clearly I mean first of all
there is a huge unmet investment need in
Iran probably the order of about a
trillion dollars and the coming five
years a great deal of that is in
upgrading its oil industry so the idea
that they can suddenly turn on a tap is
not the case so I mean there is going to
be an increase but I don't think it's
going to be immediate but clearly over
time it will have a soft earning effect
on the oil price Iran is at the same
time it is sitting on about twenty
percent of the world's proven gas
reserves a terribly important factor in
a period when climate change is that the
forefront of the international agenda
that is something I think which which
people will increasingly focus on and
want to get into David thanks very much
we've run out of time