Historic agreement with Iran raises peace hopes in Middle East

IN 1979, Islamic fundamentalists ousted the Shah of Iran, seized the United States (US) Embassy in Teheran, and detained over 50 Americans, from the charge d’affaires down to the junior staff. An American attempt to rescue the hostages ended in disaster as helicopters carrying American troops crashed in a sandstorm in the desert. Some female, black, and ill hostages were later released but most of them – 52 in all – were held for the next 444 days.

The crisis marked a low point in American diplomacy and in succeeding years, relations between Iran, now led by Ayatollah Ruhholah Khomeini, and the United States and its allies worsened. The US was the “Great Satan” to the Iranians. Iran was suspected by the Western nations of plotting to develop a nuclear bomb under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program.

In 2006, the United Nations imposed economic sanctions on Iran and in 2012, the UN and the European Union imposed punitive measures on Iran’s energy and banking sectors. Iran fell into recession and received some relief only in 2013 with the election of President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate, that signaled a change in Iran’s economic policy.

But Iran continued to suffer from the economic sanctions as the Western powers continued to look upon its nuclear energy program with great suspicion. Then in 2013, US President Barack Obama began talks with Iran’s new leaders that culminated last week in a landmark agreement that will keep Iran from producing enough material for a nuclear weapon, while Iran would receive over $100 billion in assets frozen overseas and an end to a European oil embargo and various financial restrictions on Iranian banks.

There has been tremendous opposition to the agreement from various sides. Iranian hardliners oppose the dismantling of its nuclear program. Israel sees a threat to its existence if Iran develops a nuclear bomb, while Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab nations continue to see a mortal threat in a strong and aggressive Shi-ite Iran.

Despite so much opposition, hardened by 35 years of antipathy since the hostage crisis of 1979, US President Obama persisted in pushing for talks to end the stand-off with Iran. After the deal was announced last Tuesday, he quoted President John F. Kennedy – “Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.”

It will be years before the world will know if the agreement was the right step for the Western nations. There remains so much distrust in Iran since that hostage crisis of 35 years ago. But with men of goodwill on both sides, the historic agreement should hold and fears of nuclear war in the Middle East will give way to hope for peace and progress shared by all.