Whither the Iran nuclear deal? Ask Raisi
Rouhani has transfered JCPOA file to Iran’s new hard-line president, who just might close the deal.
Four reasons Raisi would sign onto the JCPOA
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, with less than three weeks remaining in office, has handed over diplomacy on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear deal, to his successor, former Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi, who takes office on Aug. 3.
It was the outcome both Rouhani and US President Joe Biden almost certainly wanted to avoid. The hope was that Aug. 3 would be the deadline for closing the deal, before Raisi takes office. Then Raisi (and the Iranian people) could reap the economic windfall, with lots of obvious credit going to Rouhani and the JCPOA signatories. Winners all around.
So much for that. There is now more uncertainty, of course, as Raisi assembles a cabinet and a new negotiating team, including for the seventh round of nuclear talks in Vienna, reportedly to take place in mid-August.
