FACTSHEET

Forsa survey: “Opinions and attitudes of the Germans towards Iran”Publisher: German Near and Middle East Association (NUMOV) – June / July 2015

What the Germans think:Relations with Iran once economic sanctions have been lifted

85 percent of Germans welcome the improvement in relations with Iran

Would you welcome it if an agreement in the nuclear confl ict was reached and relations with Iran improved?

■ yes

■ no

■ don’t know

Better relations with

Iran

85

114

* Nationwide survey with the help of computer-assisted telephone interviews conducted from 26 to 30 June 2015.

1,002 respondents aged 18 or over.

All fi gures in the graphs in percent.

At the end of June 2015, the Forsa institute examined the opinions and attitudes of Germany’s citizens towards Iran. The representative survey focused primarily on the question of how relations should develop once agreement in the nuclear confl ict has been reached.*

After years of negotiations, an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program has now been concluded. As part of this agreement, the West will lift economic sanctions on Iran.

The deal refl ects the wishes of the large majority of German citi-zens, for 85% of respondents said even before the deal was reached that they would welcome a settlement of the nuclear confl ict and thus better relations with Iran.

More than two-thirds of Germans – 70% to be precise – are in favor of German companies also becoming involved in Iran and intensifying economic cooperation once the sanctions have been lifted. A minority of just 23% is against economic involvement from Germany.

Clear majority of the German population: German companies should get more involved in Iran

Should German companies get involved in Iran and intensify economic relations once the sanctions have been lifted?

■ yes

■ no

■ don’t know

More involvement

in Iran 70

23

7

Among the respondents who are in favor of economic involve-ment, around 80% respectively said that German businesses in Iran should concentrate on supporting the education and training of young people, developing the local infrastructure and creating economic added value that benefits both Iran and Germany. Some 70% would like companies to promote cultural under-standing, the transfer of knowledge and western values such as democracy and freedom of speech. About 60% are also of the opinion that German industry should concentrate on exploiting natural resources, which Germany needs.

Follow-up question: Which areas should the German business community get involved in?

German companies in Iran should concentrate on:(Multiple answers possible)

Training young people 82

Developing the infrastructure 80

Economic added value for Iran and Germany 78

Cultural understanding 73

Strengthening western values 70

Knowledge transfer / exchange 70

Producing natural resources for Germany 59

The Germans believe that the agreement reached in the nuclear conflict will benefit Iran itself primarily – it will help the economy there (67%), the state (62%) and the people (61%). But the agree-ment is also advantageous for the West – that is the opinion of about half the German population. 54% of Germans believe that the German economy in particular will benefit, about 50% think there will be advantages for the American economy and about 50% also think the agreement will be good politically in Europe and the USA.

Both sides benefit from the agreement – politically and economically

Who / what will benefit from a deal in the nuclear conflict(Multiple answers possible)

Iran’s economy 67

The Iranian state 62

The people in Iran 61

Germany’s economy 54

America’s economy 50

Politics in Europe and the USA 49

Entire Middle East region 38

No-one 2

( democracy, freedom of speech)

Iran is one of the countries with the biggest natural resources in the world and has major deposits of crude oil and natural gas. Once the sanctions have been lifted, German and other European companies could participate in the production from these large oil and gas deposits. Over two-thirds of Germans are in favor of this kind of economic activity in Iran.

The potential of good economic relations to influence the political relationship is considered great. Almost three-quarters of Ger-mans (73%) believe that with good economic partnerships, political relations between Germany and Iran will also improve.

A clear majority of Germans are in favor of intensifying economic relations with Iran. But when it comes to the question of how trust-worthy Iran is as a partner, there are still obvious reservations. At the moment only slightly more than 20% of Germans say that Iran can largely be trusted as an economic partner. In contrast, a ma-jority of 71% believe that even when relations normalize again, Germany would need to remain critical and cautious.

70 percent of Germans are in favor of European companies participating in the production of oil and gas in Iran

Opinion: Good economic relations also have a positive effect on political relations

Real trust must grow first: majority of Germans remain sceptical

If German and other European companies became involved in oil and gas production in Iran once the sanctions have been lifted, this would be:

Will intensifying economic relations also improve political relations?

Can Iran be largely trusted as an economic partner?

■ good

■ not good

■ don’t know

Participation in oil / gas

production70

22

8

■ yes

■ no

■ don’t know

■ yes

■ no

■ don’t know

Positive influence

73

21

6

Iran as an economic

partner

21

71

8