A successful outcome of the nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers could potentially represent the most significant diplomatic breakthrough for the United States in the Middle East since the Madrid peace conference of 1991, which set the stage for the Oslo Accord and the Israel-Jordan peace treaty.
The stakes in Vienna are not just about Iran’s nuclear program. The negotiations have already signaled the possibilities for addressing some of the region’s most intractable and costly conflicts, including the battle against the Islamic State (IS), which occupies large tracts of Syria and Iraq and whose influence is growing across the region.
