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Don’t expect miracles from Iran ’s nuke deal

Politics Materials 30 September 2015 17:14 (UTC +04:00)
No miracles should be expected from the nuke deal achieved between Iran and the P5+1 last July, Paul J. Sullivan, a US expert on security issues told Trend Sept. 30
Don’t expect miracles from Iran ’s nuke deal

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 30

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

No miracles should be expected from the nuke deal achieved between Iran and the P5+1 last July, Paul J. Sullivan, a US expert on security issues told Trend Sept. 30.

The Iran deal is a technical agreement on uranium enrichment and other nuclear-related items, Sullivan said, adding it does not deal with Iran 's behavior in the region.

"It does not deal with Yemen, Syria , or other hot spots. The deal is quite limited. One should not read too much into it," Sullivan, who is a professor at the US National Defense University, said.

While responding to a question about possible Tehran-Washington cooperation in fighting terrorism in particular in Syria following the nuclear deal, the expert stressed that Iran has to fulfill its obligations under the nuclear deal.

" Syria is a different issue. It will be very difficult, and quite tense, if Iran and the US are ever "cooperating". The level of trust and understanding that is needed for real cooperation is simply not there -- for both sides."

It should be noted that Mohammad Nahavandian, chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said earlier that cooperation between the US and Iran on fighting terrorism in the region could be possible if the United States fulfills its commitments in the Iran nuclear deal to lift sanctions.

Meanwhile Sullivan stressed that many US sanctions that are not related to nuclear issues will remain in effect, adding many overall sanctions from the US on Iran will stay in place for a very long time.

The expert further touched upon the issue of Russian deployment in Syria, saying Moscow has been moving into the region rather strongly for some time.

"This seems to be part of its overall plan to be a bigger player in the region. This region is much closer to Russia than to the US. Russia sees it as part of its "backyard" and also a possible source for warm-water ports, base siting, arms export markets and more. Russia also sees the Islamic State group (IS, also known as ISIS, ISIL) as a threat that could quite easily spread into its closer neighbors."

Sullivan also rejected possibility of formation a Tehran-Moscow coalition in Syria.

" Iran and Russia have always been close on many issues, but not so much in Syria. This could change, but Russia needs to be careful to not get into another disaster like its previous Afghan war."

On the other hand, the US right now seems is following a "wait and see approach" regarding the Syria, the expert underlined.

Russian officials have reportedly demanded that the US warplanes exit Syrian airspace immediately.

A US official told Fox News Sept. 30 that Russian diplomats sent an official demarche ordering US planes out of Syria, adding that Russian fighter jets were now flying over Syrian territory.

Earlier today Russia 's Federation Council (upper house of parliament) unanimously approved the use of the country's armed forces abroad.

"The military goal of the operations is exclusively air support to the Syrian government forces," the head of the Russian Presidential Administration, Sergey Ivanov said.

In recent weeks, Russia has moved aircraft, tanks, artillery and armored vehicles into Syria, though its objective in the region remains murky.

Edited by CN

Umid Niayesh is Trend Agency's staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh

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