Peace within Reach? The resumption of Iranian nuclear talks

The victory of Hassan Rouhani in Iran’s June 2013 presidential elections was met with cautious optimism by many in the international community. Following what has been widely described as a successful  Iranian 'charm offensive' at last months UN General Assembly, led by Rouhani and his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, attention has shifted to the possibility of an historic diplomatic breakthrough. While a number of milestones have already been reached such as the Obama-Rouhani phone conversation, the UK’s announcement of re-establishing diplomatic relations and Iran’s apparent interest  in engaging Iran on Syria, the hard work of a negotiated nuclear deal and ability to cooperate on regional affairs still lies ahead. Success is far from guaranteed. While there is no lack of punditry on the prospects of success, few people can be better placed than Javier Solana to provide analysis and perhaps predictions. 

Javier Solana served as the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Secretary General of the Council of the EU, NATO Secretary General and Spanish Foreign Minister. In addition to being an ECFR Board member, he is the President of ESADE Centre for Global Economy and Geopolitics, a distinguished fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings Institution, Chairman of the Aspen Institute España, Honorary President of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Member of the Board of the International Crisis Group, and Human Rights Watch.

Mark Leonard is Co-Founder and Director of ECFR. He writes a fortnightly column on European and Global issues for Reuters.com. Previously he worked as Director of Foreign Policy at the Centre for European Reform, and Director of the Foreign Policy Centre.