After countless false starts, an agreement has been reached between the US and Iran, and as expected, both Tehran and Washington consider themselves winners, writes the BBC.
US President Donald Trump has loudly declared that the agreement will bring peace and security to the entire region. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, announcing the signing of the memorandum of understanding, praised his country’s military achievements. Reaching an agreement will slightly reduce pressure on Trump for the damage caused to the international economy, while Iran’s crumbling economy will be able to recover somewhat from the pressure caused by Trump.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is the mediator in the negotiations and was the first to report on the agreement, said that it also sees an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon. This may be wishful thinking, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown no signs of stopping his attacks on Lebanon.
Last week alone, Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut repeatedly threatened to derail the entire negotiation process. Consequently, there is no guarantee that the agreement will ease the situation in Lebanon, and two previous ceasefires have failed.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Gulf neighbors are relieved that, at least for now, Iran will no longer be firing missiles at them.
It is not known how much the agreement covers the most important issue from the US perspective – Tehran’s nuclear program and the possible development of nuclear weapons. This was the formal reason why the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Iranian state media, which was present at the talks, has hinted that some mechanisms have been decided to limit the nuclear program, but determining this will be a matter of long-term discussion.
The official agreement is expected to be signed in several more days, and given the unpredictability of the situation, no one can guarantee that everything will go as expected, but for now, tensions have eased a bit.
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