When President Barak Obama issued an executive order lifting sanctions against Iran recently, Danial was watching. That's not his real name. He prefers to remain anonymous. The 32-year old Ph.D student at Mississippi State University, is from Iran and says he doesn't support the regime. Danial believes the sanctions were a major force in driving Iranian leaders to agree to dismantle it's efforts at building nuclear weapons. The industrial engineering student says the sanctions became a burden on families.
"I heard from my friends and everyday talked with my family on the phone, like the prices of goods were super high and they had difficulty even eating. Everything was super expensive," said Danial.
Fear of Iran developing nuclear capabilities dates back more than twenty years. Iranians leaders said it was for peaceful purposes. But claims the country can't be trusted and funds terrorist groups led to heavy sanctions by the U.S. and European nations. They froze overseas assets and cut-off payments from oil exports, which Danial says fuels the nation's economy. Last year an international coalition reached a deal with Iran to reduce the nuclear threat. Recently, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations verified Iran met the demands. Danial says it's giving Iranians hope.
"They're happy about it. I don't think it's going to solve all Iranian problems. They expect major economy comeback, but it's not going to happen, said Danial. Why not? asked Desare. Because it's going to take time, especially because the oil prices are low," said Danial.
The deal includes Iran reducing it's uranium stockpile by 98 percent and removing two-thirds of its centrifuges which are used in making nuclear weapons.