Following two years of negotiations, Iran has signed a nuclear agreement with the U.S. and five other countries Thursday that prevents the country’s nuclear program from producing nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.
Although the agreement still has to be finalized in a comprehensive pact due in June, it is a breakthrough for the U.S., which will now be able to rebuild relations with Iran, and for Iran, whose economy has been crippled by the years-long economic sanctions.
Although some opponents claim that the agreement is not sufficient to thwart Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions should it desire to pursue that path, U.S. President Barack Obama said that the deal made it impossible for Iran to develop nuclear weapons and established the most intrusive inspection system ever.
There are many details that still need to be worked out before a final pact is signed in June. Also important is that both sides win over their domestic audiences regarding the deal, no easy task given that the two countries have been avowed enemies for decades. In fact, the deal is still precarious.
The Iranian nuclear deal has several implications for the current North Korean nuclear standoff. The U.S., which has been preoccupied with the Iranian deal, can now turn its attention toward the long-stalled six-party talks. With normalization of ties with Cuba and now the Iranian nuclear deal under his belt, Obama may choose to focus on the North Korean nuclear issue, possibly pushing to resolve the issue before he leaves the Oval Office.
While the Iranian nuclear agreement may bring renewed interest in the six-party talks, the situation is far more complicated on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has bolted from the NPT regime and has conducted three nuclear tests already, unlike Iran which does not yet possess nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, North Korea is now likely to feel itself justified in demanding that it be given conditions similar to those applied to Iran, which are far less strict than the “complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement” of its nuclear programs demanded by the five countries of the six-party talks.
While the government is upbeat that the U.S.-Iran deal will bring about increased business opportunities in the Middle East as sanctions on Iran are lifted, it should pay closer attention to how the deal could affect the six-party talks.
