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No Change in Iran After the Nuclear Deal
(Bloomberg) Eli Lake - Much of U.S. strategy in the Iran nuclear talks has been aimed at strengthening perceived moderates in the hopes of weakening perceived hardliners. But last week Iran's hardliners voted to disqualify nearly all of President Hassan Rouhani's political allies from running in next month's parliamentary elections. Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution, noted that even if Rouhani's allies did gain more seats in Iran's parliament, recent history suggests this wouldn't matter much anyway. Karim Sadjadpour, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, "The forces of darkness in Iran are deeply entrenched and aren't going to step aside without a fight." Those forces have been on a roll since Iran agreed in July to the nuclear accord.