Despite all the difficulties and conspiracies, the nuclear deal between Iran and West sailed successfully through and the economic sanctions were lifted from Iran. The news was welcomed around the world and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and US president Obama congratulated all the stakeholders for this success. The leaders in Iran also warmly welcomed the news and it was taken as a moment of celebration for the Iranian public as they were badly suffering due to economic sanctions. With this announcement, the oil prices fell to the lowest in last 13 years as now, Iran would also be able to sell its oil in the global market and it would definitely worsen the faltering oil prices around the world. However, this is good news for the Iranian public that now, they will be able to have a sigh of relief after the strict economic sanctions that had crippled the Iranian economy and put much pressure on the economy of Iranian masses.
This agreement is also considered an important achievement for Obama in his final year in the office. It is the continuation of the policy of Obama that he adopted in his second term in office in which he insisted to resolve the outstanding issues with diplomacy and negotiations. The resumption of ties with Cuba, the efforts to initiate peace talks between different factions in Syria and the efforts to resolve the problem of Iran’s nuclear program were the parts of this strategy. US foreign secretary John Kerry has earned worldwide respect and admiration for his continuous efforts throughout the world to meet different leaders to avoid conflicts and resolve the disagreements.
President Obama defended this agreement and warned the congress that he would veto any legislation against this by the congress. According to him, ‘this is the solution acceptable for 99% of people and leaders of the world. I invite all those to come up with alternate solutions who are against this agreement. I am sure they will not be able to give an alternate for this’.
The biggest reason given by the supporters of this agreement is the fact that this was the only way to avoid any military conflict in the Middle East. It remains a fact that economic sanctions did weaken the Iran but there were also some politicians inside Iran insisting that nuclear enrichment was the right of Iran just like other nuclear states. Further sanctions could have forced Iranian government and especially the hardliners to go forward in making nuclear weapon. Then, the West could have done only one thing to stop this; to bomb and destroy the nuclear facilities of Iran and it could have endangered the whole region with the possibility of a new war in the war-torn Middle East. In past as well, Israel had warned Iran that it would bomb its nuclear sites if Iran did not stop working for the achievement of nuclear weapon. On the other hand, Iran also has a strong military power in the region and it could have given good response against any such attack, dragging the region on the edge of a full-fledged war. The recent agreement has thwarted any such possibility of war in the region and according to Obama and many other leaders of the world, the deal has made the world a safer place to live.
The deal also shows the importance of continuous diplomacy and willingness from both the sides to resolve the issues with negotiations. The talks were being held since 2005 and at many times, the talks were suspended due to differences between the two sides. The recent series of talks were initiated after Hassan Rouhani was elected the president of Iran in 2013 and it took many months and continuous efforts to come up with a deal agreed upon and accepted by all the sides. Both the sides had felt that there was no option left for them except to come up with a mutually agreed upon agreement. This shows the spirit of democracy and blessings of negotiations and gives a message to all the leaders of the world to resolve the problems and conflicts with peace and dialogue.
However, there were and there are politicians and countries who are strongly opposed to any such deal. Obama fears that congress might come with legislation against this deal, as there are many congressional representatives who are against this. In fact, the Israeli lobby is very strong inside the congress and they are opposing this deal just like the Israeli government. Israeli Prime Minister has called this deal disastrous for the region and warned the world that it would give enough time for Iran to emerge as the nuclear power, threatening the peace and stability of the whole region. On the other hand, Kingdom of Saudi Area is also not happy with this deal as they are in direct conflict with Iran on the issues of Syria and Yemen and very recently, there has been a sharp rise of tensions between the two big powers of the region.
It has long been the policy of Israel to destroy the nuclear program of Iran by whatever way possible. Israel is afraid that Iran with a nuclear capability would pose more threats to its existence. On the other hand, it is also feared that after the sanctions are lifted, Iran will emerge as stronger country in the region and will pose threat to its neighbors especially Saudi Arabia and Israel.
It is also feared that economically strong Iran will be able to harbor more funds to support the groups like Hezbollah who are fighting in Syria is support of President Assad and Hamas who are regarded as hardliner enemies of Israel in Palestine.
However, all the fears and reasons against this nuclear deal do not carry much weight. The biggest problem with Israel is its double-standard politics in the world. Although Israel has neither accepted nor denied of having nuclear weapons but it is internationally accepted that Israel is a nuclear power.
The nuclear agreement is the fruit of the efforts of all the big powers of the world. It lies as the moral obligation for all the nations of the world to honor this agreement as it has been brought into existence for the broader good of the world and countries like Israel need to ignore their mean policies and diplomacy for the well-being of the world.