The Takeaway: Raisi likely can’t resist economic benefits of Iran nuclear deal
Also: Turkey as wild card on Syria aid; United States says it is not trading Syrian oil for aid; Russia rebuilds Palmyra; the latest reporting from Idlib; Bedouin lawmaker a headache for Israel’s Arab party; Cairo museum gets makeover.
1. Hot take on Iran: Bennett calls for ‘world powers to wake up’ on Raisi, Iran
Talks will go on … Incoming Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will continue talks on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal. As we wrote here last week, the economic payday from a revived JCPOA would be a huge boost economically and politically. The JCPOA was wildly popular in Iran. If Raisi can close the deal, the conservatives, not the Reformists, can claim the windfall.
... but no missiles. Raisi has ruled out discussions of Iran’s regional role and missiles as part of the JCPOA talks as "non-negotiable." This is on the one hand not new. Rouhani and his negotiators, at least publicly, have called for the United States to "live up to its commitments" under the JCPOA.
“No problem” with regional talks. Raisi will probably keep pace with Iran’s outreach to regional parties, including Saudi Arabia, saying at a press conference after his win, “There should be no problem for relations between the two countries as well as dialogue with all regional countries.”
