Trump’s new nuclear deal offers may be a long shot. However, India will hope for Tehran reset
In another interesting move, Trump sent a letter to Iran at the end of the week asking the Islamic Republic to discuss a recent deal on its nuclear program. It is remembered that it was Trump himself who, during his first term, withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as part of his so -called “maximum pressure” campaign. This, of course, was, a great American itself. It did not break the Islamic Republic, turned it closer to China and made it an ally of Russia in the ongoing Ukraine War. Moreover, the time when Trump withdrew the deal, the Tehran was fulfilling all its responsibilities under the nuclear deal.
However, unclear, even Biden has not corrected the course in the last four years. Although the Ukraine war had made it politically inaccessible since 2022, it could only fix things in 2021. Nevertheless, Trump’s offer is now a confession by Washington. But Tehran, once after fraud, is naturally more skeptical. In addition, its involvement in the Ukraine War means that it is now firmly in the China Russia camp.
Indeed, US sanctions on Iran have been a major problem for countries like India, which met a certain amount of its energy needs through imports from Tehran. These sanctions also stopped the development of India’s transit route to Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar port. Therefore, a new agreement in which sanctions on Iran were lifted will be a great news for New Delhi. But will Tehran take offers? The initial reaction from Tehran is not encouraging to reject the dialogue with Ayatollah Khamenei with “bullying governments”. In addition, Iran’s nuclear enrichment has significantly developed in interim, which has reached 60 % purity – just below the grade of weapons.
Also, with China and the United States now closed in trade war, Beijing will play all its seasonal friendship cards with Tehran to maintain it. It can also be a Trump bluff to make Arab countries stand in terms of Israel and Gaza. So, Trump’s new offer is a long shot. But a deal that normalizes US -Iran relations will be good for South, mostly in India and globally.
This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of the Times of India.
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