Congress returns from summer recess next week, bringing with it enough votes in the Senate to ensure President Obama a win on the nuclear deal with Iran, his signature foreign-policy achievement. The outcome suggests the President’s principal argument — that a negotiated settlement on Iran’s nuclear weapons program is preferable to the alternative — has...
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif gestures as he talks to journalist from a balcony of the Palais Coburg hotel where the Iran nuclear talks are being held in Vienna on July 10. (CARLOS BARRIA/AFP/Getty Images)
Congress returns from summer recess next week, bringing with it enough votes in the Senate to ensure President Obama a win on the nuclear deal with Iran, his signature foreign-policy achievement. The outcome suggests the President’s principal argument — that a negotiated settlement on Iran’s nuclear weapons program is preferable to the alternative — has resonated with key members of Congress.
Yet the irony is that while Administration officials trumpet the nuclear deal as a triumph of soft power (diplomacy and reasoned negotiation) over hard power (military attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities), Washington’s efforts to assure anxious Arab allies in the wake of the deal seem remarkably focused on reinforcing their capacity to engage Iran militarily.
For the Gulf Arab countries, the future is more important than the present, but it is unclear if Iran, the United States, and Israel have the same vision.
The imperative for Gulf states to unify their position has grown since the onset of Iranian attacks on their countries. Yet under conditions of uncertainty about the U.S. position and the war's outcome, Gulf states are demonstrating differing regional alignments and preferences for managing the crisis.
Sep 4, 2015
Concerns about Iran go beyond nuclear deal
Congress returns from summer recess next week, bringing with it enough votes in the Senate to ensure President Obama a win on the nuclear deal with Iran, his signature foreign-policy achievement. The outcome suggests the President’s principal argument — that a negotiated settlement on Iran’s nuclear weapons program is preferable to the alternative — has...