Iran’s interim deal with the West
The universal sentiment is, this is a significant breakthrough– other than, of course, the reaction from Israel, which called it ‘the historic mistake’. The anti-Iran Arab states have stayed mum on the development, but, much like Tel Aviv, there would not be much celebration in those capitals either. The complete normalization of relations between Iran and the West though may still take some time, and painstaking negotiations. But the breach has been made and the drift is towards resolution of the nuclear standoff and ending Iran’s estrangement. After 10 years of protracted endeavour by the West – which included the United States’ branding it as part of the ‘Axis of Evil’ – had delivered zilch, Iranian President Rouhani’s overture has worked. The US plus five – Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – have reached an agreement that provides Iran relief in petro-chemical exports worth around $7 billion in exchange for curbs toward taking its nuclear programme to weapons grade.
What is important, the deal made the principal parties happy, for President Rouhani believed that Iran’s nuclear ‘rights’ had been acknowledged while the President Obama said, “it included substantial limitations” which will prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. In essence, this interim deal provides all concerned a window of six months in which a permanent deal can be hammered together. The retreat of the West, particularly the United States, was quite pronounced once it had to backtrack from its avowed stance of turning Syria into another Libya. Russia and China had taken the lead in reversing the tide against Assad’s Syria with Iran standing firm with its ally. That tilt in scales was a harbinger, now Iran’s coming back from the cold, even if partially, is a sign that the entire region is up for transformation after nearly three decades of business as usual in which the Salafists have mostly ruled the roost.
With Iran making a slow but bold and certain comeback in international reckoning and Turkey already resurgent both economically and in terms of regional and global influence, Pakistan remains the sick man of what once was a three-nation RCD (Regional Cooperation for Development) alliance of thriving nations in South West Asia. But all is not lost. There are opportunities galore to put Pakistan on rapid growth trajectory. But are we prepared? The answer to this unfortunately cannot be in the affirmative, for bogged down by the self-created demons the power echelons refuse to remove cobwebs in the mind and be up-front about it.
