Is The Balance Of Power In The Middle East Shifting?

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif gestures as he speaks during a news conference at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne) on April 2, 2015, after Iran nuclear program talks finished with extended sessions. Reuters/Brendan Smialowski/Pool

David Kenner, Foreign Policy: Iran Deal Threatens to Upend a Delicate Balance of Power in the Middle East

From Riyadh to Jerusalem, leaders are watching warily for signs of Tehran’s ascendance.

BEIRUT — As negotiators in Lausanne, Switzerland, agreed on a tentative deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program and waive sanctions pending verification of the eventual terms of the agreement, countries across the Middle East have already begun to adapt to the new regional political landscape.

While both the United States and Iran insist that negotiations pertain solely to Tehran’s nuclear program, leaders across the Arab world see the agreement through the prism of the Middle East’s delicate balance of power and the many conflicts racking the region. It’s not a crazy idea: In a sign of how the agreement could affect broader ties between Tehran and Washington, Iranian television, for the first time ever, aired live U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech in the Rose Garden on Thursday, April 2. Depending on which side of the conflict the regional leaders stand on, they either hope or fear that Iran will be enriched by the lifting of economic sanctions and empowered by its integration as a respected member of the international order.

WNU Editor: Perception becomes reality .... and this is definitely the case when it comes to Iran and its perceived ascendency in the Middle East. Hezbollah is cheering .... Lebanese Hezbollah calls Iran deal a 'victory' (Washington Examiner), and Iran's other allies are lending their support and praise ... These Groups Were Also Celebrating the Iran Deal (Defense One/Quartz). On the other side .... the Arab - Sunni states are going to respond .... and my prediction is that we are now entering not only an era of nuclear proliferation, but a period of time where sectarian warfare and terrorism will escalate to become the norm in the Middle East rather than having any hopes for peace or stability.