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Tracing The Outlines Of The Iran Deal

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With guest host Jane Clayson.

The Iran nuclear deal outline, and how it fits into a region in turmoil.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is also Iran's top nuclear negotiator, waves to his well wishers upon arrival at the Mehrabad airport in Tehran, Iran, from Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, April 3, 2015.  (AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is also Iran's top nuclear negotiator, waves to his well wishers upon arrival at the Mehrabad airport in Tehran, Iran, from Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, April 3, 2015. (AP)

Whatever happens in the next round of Iran nuclear negotiations, or on Capitol Hill or in Tehran, the nuclear deal struck last week in Lausanne was historic.  The close, dogged diplomacy was an achievement in itself.  And it hinted at --maybe-- a thaw in the 35-year Cold War between Iran and the US.  Maybe big changes for the Middle East.  But there’s already more change going in the region than anybody can get their heads around. Just look at the headlines: Tikrit, Yemen, Syria, ISIS. This hour On Point: the Iran deal, a collapsing Middle East and the search for a grand strategy.
-- Jane Clayson

Guests

David Ignatius, foreign affairs columnist for the Washington Post. (@ignatiuspost)

Peter Harling, senior advisor for the Middle East for the International Crisis Group. (@peterharling)

Zbigniew Brzezinski, former US national security advisor. Counselor and trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and senior resarch professor of international relations at John Hopkins University. Author of "Strategic Vision." (@zbig)

From The Reading List

International Crisis Group: The Islamic State Through The Looking-Glass -- " We are emerging from a relatively well-defined, intelligible world into a moment of chaotic change and reinvention. Out of fear of the unknown and a need to categorise what is happening, we use flawed parallels and historic references. One day it is the end of Sykes-Picot borders; the next the Cold War is being revived. Iranian officials like to view current events through the lens of the 1980s, when they fought a heroic and traumatic war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and his backers."

Washington Post: A better-than-expected nuclear deal with Iran — "It’s not a perfect agreement and certainly not a permanent solution to the threat an aggressive Iran poses for Israel and other nations in the Middle East. But the framework delivered more than many skeptics had feared. The problem is that the enervating bargaining will continue for another three months (at least) before the accord is final.

USA Today: Corker: Congress must have say in Iran deal — "The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will move ahead with legislation that requires congressional approval of any Iran nuclear deal reached by President Obama, the committee's chairman, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., reiterated after the White House announced Thursday negotiators had reached a framework for a final deal."

This program aired on April 6, 2015.

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