the Geneva deal is now finalized and its implementation has already started.

After the two sides reached an agreement on the details of the Nov. 24 Joint Plan of Action, the countries concerned announced their consent with the modality and agreed to start its implementation from January 20.

The speed of developments has messages for the people both inside and outside the country.

The following are the messages for the people inside the country:

First, the deal has been approved by the highest offices in Iran. In other words, the mainstream is what has been approved by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Therefore, today, the need of the hour is to hold fast to the national interests and forgo factional interests.

Second, the fact that the capitals verified the deal in less than 48 hours after its approval by the experts indicates that there is a political will at the highest level to reengage Iran into global trends—while preserving national dignity—on the basis of dignity, wisdom and exigency.

Therefore, what is needed today is national consensus for continuing support for the negotiating team in future talks.

Some of the messages for foreign players:

First, the fact that the agreement was finalized in a few hours by different capitals indicates that there is an international consensus in this regard, which is a good development. This consensus is, of course, based on the fact that Iran’s proposals are rational and based on President Rouhani’s win-win diplomacy. The deal sends a clear message to P5+1: From now on, the onus is on them to win the support of different circles in their capitals to make the deal a success.

Second, the process of negotiations showed that Iran will neither submit to pressure nor will it give up its rights. True, Iran was and is ready to negotiate, as the Leader—who has the final say in this regard—declared a number of times. However, in future talks, the foreign partners should bear in mind that they too must formulate their negotiations within the framework of the win-win diplomacy.

Third, the finalization of the deal has practically diffused the “plot” of hardliners in the US Congress. The US Congressmen, both Republican and Democrats—who are keen on continuing the use of sanctions as leverage against Iran—should have realized by now that this is not effective anymore. Instead of intimidating Iran, it would be better for them to win the confidence of the Iranian nation and government to prepare the grounds for a mutually beneficial Iran-US rapprochement.
Fourth, developments in the Middle East have shown that Iran can be the most reliable political partner in the region for mutual and multilateral cooperation. The deal has opened up this opportunity; it is time to grasp it and move forward from nuclear talks toward talks on Iran-US relations. This is not only in the interests of the two countries but also of the world at large and the region in particular.