Qatar leader in Iran in bid to help salvage 2015 nuclear pact
Al JazeeraDec 22, 2021
Qatar Leader Visits Iran in Bid to Help Salvage Nuclear Deal
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Image copyright: Reuters [via Al Jazeera]
The Facts
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim met Iranian Pres. Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on Thurs. as the Gulf state seeks to help end a dispute between Iran and the US over a potential revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
While Iran seeks to expand its ties with regional powers, Qatar is reportedly aiming to bring the parties involved in the Iran nuclear agreement to "a new middle ground."
The Spin
Right narrative
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard has become one of the region's most powerful and dangerous military organizations, training and arming terrorist proxies in places like Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Concessions are only going to embolden this radical organization and lead to further mayhem in the Middle East.
Left narrative
Any threat currently posed by Iran would be far worse should it obtain a nuclear weapon. Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 agreement only made that possibility more likely. These concessions are necessary in the interests of wider national security.
Establishment-critical narrative
Placing the Revolutionary Guard on its terror blacklist was the first time in history that Washington designated part of a sovereign government as a terrorist organization. Reversing this is an essential step before Iran can return to any deal.
