Iran and the EU: from sanctions to cooperation
The article aims to examine the relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the European Union over the past decades with due regard to Western sanctions against Iran. The authors of the article make an attempt to analyse the history and the current state of the European policy towards Iran, its major practices and their efficiency. The article views the Geneva Agreement of 2013 and its results as the main historic event aimed at overcoming the crisis, related to the Iranian nuclear programme. Special attention is paid to the new US sanctions and the response to them on the part of the European Union. Taking into account the results of the analysis carried out in the article, the authors indicate the volatility of economic relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the European Union, which does not prevent Iran from adopting an open-economy policy. They point out that this, in turn, will make it possible for non-European players to sideline the EU countries in the Iranian market and integrate this country into geopolitical confrontation system in the Near and Middle East region. The article gives examples of European and non-European companies whose activities in Iran were influenced by the sanctions.