Economics

What the Nuclear Accord Means for Business Opportunities in Iran

Big business might have to wait a little longer before dealing with Tehran

President Barack Obama speaks the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 2, 2015, about the breakthrough in the Iranian nuclear talks.

J. David Ake via AP Photo
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The phone line was buzzing Thursday at Jack Hayes's office at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington—several Fortune 500 clients wanted to know what the nascent nuclear accord in Iran meant for doing business in the Islamic Republic.

His answer: not much, at least for now, and at least for most U.S. companies chomping at the bit to reenter the economically isolated nation of 80 million people and the world's fourth-largest oil reserves.