It took just a few days after the agreement between Iran and world powers was announced in Geneva before evidence started to emerge of a significant strengthening of Iran’s position against its rivals. The interim agreement has not gone into effect yet, but the balance of power in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East is already changing.
The so-called Joint Plan of Action, signed on Nov. 24, is meant as a temporary measure, ostensibly freezing conditions in place for six months while negotiators hammer out a permanent deal over Iran’s nuclear program.
And yet, the very fact that Iran obtained a weakening of international sanctions and lowered the prospect of military action by the U.S. triggered a rethinking of policy by Arab states of the Persian Gulf, which have fiercely opposed Iran’s nuclear aspirations due to broader concerns over what they see as Shiite Iran’s ambitions to achieve regional dominance.