Iran frees 10 US Marines, US hails diplomacy
Iran’s move to release the 10 US marines on January 13 has come as a pleasant surprise given the history of conflicted relations between the two countries. The United States …
Read MoreTag: Iran-US relations
Historic Iran deal: What it means for India and the world
The first thing to understand about the 109- page long document, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPA), signed in Vienna on July 14, 2015 is that it marks the end of a long spell of hostility and suspicion between the US and Iran. Though it was Federica Mogherini, the foreign policy chief of European Commission, who stood next to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at the centre in the official photo, the real negotiation was between Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry who was standing almost at the edge.
It will be useful to understand how the US and Iran, close allies for decades till Mohammed Reza Shah was toppled by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, got estranged.
In short, despite referring to the US as Satan in public, Iranians love and admire the US. Their reconciliation is a good development for themselves and the rest of the world. Israel lacks the military capability to carry out strikes against Iran though empty threats might not stop.
For India, this is indeed a positive development. The UPA government had unwisely assessed that the US might not agree to the 123 nuclear agreement then under negotiation, and voted against Iran. Now is the time to rectify the mistake. The Modi government is going ahead with the stalled Chabahar Port project. A visit by Prime Minister Modi to Iran is indicated.