• Home
• /
• Opinion

A little away from a deal

Apart from the nuclear deal, what this landmark reconciliation will achieve is normalising of relations between the US and Iran.

Hassan Rohani had a surprise for many -- on the eve of Nouroz -- when he said that a deal with the United States is in the making. The Iranian president who had maintained a discreet silence over the nuclear talks, as his emissaries went through the troughs and crests in Switzerland, said that progress has been made in talks and a final deal could be reached.

The Five-plus-One talks under the aegis of the United Nations have a month-end deadline to meet, detailing out plans on limiting Iran’s nuclear activity and coming up with a roadmap to scrap sanctions on the Islamic republic. If US President Barack Obama and his counterpart Rohani’s euphoric statements are any criterion, it seems a deal is round the corner between the archrivals, which will have far-reaching consequences for world peace and security.

As they say the devil is in the details, the world community and especially Iran’s Arab neighbours will have to wait for the drop of the hat before making a comment. The concerns that Saudi Arabia has expressed over the possible reconciliation between Iran and the US cannot be brushed aside. Washington and Tehran will have to do some plaintalking to apprise allies and adversaries of the fine points of the deal, and how fruitful its aftermath would be for the regional status quo.

Apart from the nuclear deal, what this landmark reconciliation will achieve is normalising of relations between the US and Iran. Three decades of bad blood and mistrust could be put to rest with the stroke of a pen in Geneva. This is farsighted diplomacy paving way for congeniality at the end of the day. Obama and Rohani should not let this moment slip out of their hands.