US-Iran clinch interim nuclear deal: Blow to Israel and Saudi Arabia; relief for India
WASHINGTON: The United States plus five world powers reached a landmark deal with Iran on Sunday to curtail the Persian country's purported march towards nuclear weapons.
The agreement, when fully realized, has the potential to dramatically alter the geo-political landscape of the Middle-East, Gulf, and South Asia, affecting the strategic outlook and orientation of major countries from Israel to India and in between.
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At a broader level, it will begin the process of recasting strategic alignments in the region. Untrusting Israel, haunted by an existential crisis that comes from a (mutual) pathological fear of a nuclear-armed rival, straightaway rejected the deal, suggesting U.S and its allies had been suckered by Teheran. Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia, which fears its cozy equation with Washington being eclipsed by a Shia-dominated Iran returning to the U.S sphere of influence, also lashed out at the agreement.
Nearer home, the US-Iranian detente provides an exit route for the United States from landlocked Afghanistan while reducing its dependence on extremist Pakistan, which is extracting a ransom for the 2014 drawdown from Afghanistan.
It will also come as a big relief for India, which has had to do juggle and balance four aspects -- its growing strategic partnership with the U.S., its strong military relationship with Israel, its economic and social investments in Afghanistan, and its civilizational ties with the Persian power. An Indian-built road from the Afghan border town of Zaranj to the Iranian port of Charbahar suddenly comes into play. Eventually, India may also be able to resume normal trade relations with Iran, which the US-led sanctions had put a crimp on.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-Iran-clinch-interim-nuclear-deal-Blow-to-Israel-and-Saudi-Arabia-relief-for-India/articleshow/26322475.cms
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