What's behind the complex deal between Iran and the U.S.?
What is behind the complex deal between the US and Iran?
Tehran and Washington agree to exchange prisoners and release billions in frozen assets.
Months of indirect negotiations between bitter enemies the United States and Iran have culminated in a complex agreement that includes a prisoner exchange.
Five Americans detained in Tehran have already been moved to house arrest. And, in time, a number of Iranians jailed in the US will be freed.
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Perhaps most significant is the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets. US sanctions remain in place and mistrust is still an issue for both parties.
But the deal is being described as a significant political achievement – and some analysts suggest it could lay the groundwork for revisiting the 2015 nuclear accord.
So, will this agreement lead to another one? And with the 2024 US election around the corner, will it begin to change the US’s relationship with its long-time foe?
Presenter: Cyril Vanier
Guests:
Foad Izadi – Head of American Studies at the University of Tehran
Negar Mortazavi – Iranian-American journalist and host of The Iran Podcast
Scott Lucas – Professor of US and international politics at University College Dublin