Unrest in the Middle East: Deal Close to Being Done

     Through all of the conflict and unrest in the Middle East, a positive seems to be forming. According to an article by CNN, Iran and the US seem to be nearing a deal that would prevent Iran's nuclear program "from advancing, and roll it back". This deal would help some of the unease felt by the United States and strengthen their relationship with Iran. The deal, proposed by the group P5+1, would extend the breakout time required to achieve a nuclear weapon as well as shorten the time to notice if they tried. The P5+1 consists of the United States, along with the four other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany.
     A major bright spot came after a report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that Iran had slowed the advance of its nuclear production for the first time in years.The IAEA report shows that in the past three months Iran added four old-style IR-1 centrifuges for enriching uranium, after previously installing roughly 1,800 in the previous three-month reporting period.The changes have come during the first three months of President Hassan Rouhani's time in office. He vowed to resolve Iran's nuclear dispute in order to ease sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. The steps that he has taken, while small, are a sign of goodwill to the P5+1 that they are willing to make concessions. 

Iran's heavy water nuclear facility near the central city of Arak is backdropped by mountains January 15, 2011.

     These developments came only days after President Obama disagreed with congress' idea to increase sanctions on Iran to force them to agree with the deal. According to one article, the increased sanctions proposed by Congress are spurred on by the pro-Israel lobby, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself, as they have never had a friendly relationship with Iran. The showing of goodwill helps begin to establish trust that is essential for this deal to be successful. While increased sanctions may have caused Iran to agree to the deal, I think that a deal made with both parties mutually agreeing will be more successful than a deal that one of the parties is forced in to.
     With the instability in the region at the moment in the form of Syria, a swift agreement would be ideal. I believe that an amount of trust needs to be established between the two parties. “I don’t trust the people who sit across the table from me in these negotiations,” says Wendy Sherman, the diplomat leading the American delegation at the talks in Geneva. To get any deal agreed on, the two parties need to put aside some of the suspicions that have formed over 34 years of icy relations, and have an honest and open discussion. I will leave you with a quote by Winston Churchill, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”