What will the next US president hold for Iran?

By Claude Salhani - Trend:

There has been a lot of talk and speculation regarding the accords signed earlier this month between Iran and the permanent members of UN Security Council, plus Germany, collectively known as the P5 +1.

According to well informed US lawmakers on Capitol Hill there are secret clauses to this agreement that have not been revealed to the American public. Suffice to say that not everybody’s happy with the outcome of these accords.

Attempts to settle the question of Iran’s nuclear capability has been dragging on for years, as have the sanctions that have been imposed on the Islamic Republic for its refusal to comply with the international requests for transparency.

Yet this time around there seemed to be a mad rush for the finish line, as though everybody just wanted to get it over with. Especially the United States and Iran, each for their own good reasons.

On the US side, President Barack Obama is eager to leave a positive legacy of his two terms in the White House. Obama has already made history as the first African-American president, however he very much wants to be remembered for something relating to his policies rather than his ethnic origins. Especially after his initial interest in trying to solve the crisis in the Middle East when he first entered the White House.

When he realized he was not getting anywhere, except for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize – rather prematurely – and having realized just how complex the issue was, Obama withdrew from foreign policy, concentrating instead on domestic affairs. But great presidents are usually remembered for their accomplishments in the international arena.
Richard Nixon with China, Jimmy Carter with Egypt and Israel and Ronald Reagan with the Soviet Union. So it made sense for Obama to give it one last shot and secure his place in the gallery of famous presidents.

Likewise, on the Iranian side, they too had good reasons for urgency… despite the bad blood that exist between them, both sides opted to push ahead and reach an agreement before a new president takes the oath of office in the United States. The leadership in Iran is well aware that the new administration in Washington might be much stricter then the Obama administration.

As to what the future holds for this agreement remains to be seen. What is quite certain from this point is that regardless of which party comes to power, whether it’s the Democrats or the Republicans, they will scrutinize the agreement and quite possibly even revisit it.
Until the crowds in Iran stop shouting “Death to America”, many in the United States will remain skeptical when it comes to peace with Iran.

/By Trend/