This Has Been A Big Week In U.S. - Iranian Relations

Image: Flickr/U.S. Department of State.

Daniel R. DePetris, National Interest: Iran and the United States Had a Very Big Week

We will certainly not hear this from the ten Republican candidates running for president of the United States, but this past week proved to be an incredibly productive time for U.S.-Iran diplomacy. Indeed, the last seven days has not only resulted in several positive outcomes for the United States, but has exhibited just how markedly different interactions between American and Iranian officials have become since the JCPOA negotiating process first began three years ago.

Before President Hassan Rouhani was elected, Obama administration officials would have had a hard time justifying a simple telephone conversation with an Iranian counterpart on any matter. And if a phone call was made, there is a slim chance anything tangible would come out of it, let alone a deliverable that the White House and State Department could tout publicly.

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WNU Editor: The big question that remains unanswered is the following .... is this new U.S. - Iranian alignment sustainable? .... Iran: Now the hard part begins (Michael Crowley, Politico). From my point of view .... it is going to be hard. America's allies in the region are furious with what has happened, and they are going to do everything in the power to derail it and/or curtail its significance. The wars that are engulfing the Middle East also show no signs of ending .... in fact .... they are escalating. These conflicts are straining relations both within the Middle East .... and outside. The option of staying neutral and/or distant from these conflicts may not play in 2016 and beyond .... and the Iranian - Saudi conflict may force countries like the U.S. to take sides .... a position that President Obama has been loathe to take. More importantly .... the political landscape is going to change in Washington by the end of the year. Regardless of who is elected as President, I do not see them pursuing the same policy that President Obama has pursued with Iran in the past few years ... in fact .... I see them standing back and/or back-peddling on what has transpired in the past 2 years. This  probably is not going to play well in Tehran, especially if even more sanctions are imposed on top of what has been imposed today.