With a final nuclear deal with six world powers at hand, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered his administration to start planning to attract foreign direct investment. He has also urged domestic enterprises to grab the “unprecedented opportunity” to strengthen the manufacturing and exports markets, a policy that authorities hope will lead to accelerating economic growth — as high as 8% per year — by 2021.

Among the myriad Iranian political actors, the moderate president is the major short-term winner of the "best" feasible settlement to the nuclear row. In his 2013 campaign, Rouhani promised to curb galloping inflation that exceeded 40% in October 2013, resolve the nuclear standoff that was pushing the country toward war, and lift the crippling economic sanctions that intensified between 2010 and 2012. He has now met these promises and is not shy about making it clear.

Rouhani's latest achievement will make him more popular at home and provide him with stronger leverage for political bargaining with stubborn rivals — the main losers, politically speaking, of the landmark deal.

Aware of the possible consequences of Rouhani’s success, ultraconservatives have started questioning, criticizing and sabotaging the administration's foreign policy achievements, which they fear will become an effective tool in the hands of the moderates to mobilize public opinion ahead of key upcoming elections.