In the wake of the brand new interim agreement concerning the Iranian nuclear enrichment program, the world finds itself in a delicate position. Should we welcome an unexpected step towards denuclearization? Or do we remain skeptical of a simple 6-month interim agreement? The truth is that both are somewhat true. For the first time since 2003, the international community, in particular the P5+1 group (United States, France, Great Britain, Russia, China and Germany), managed to reach an agreement with Tehran, previously uncooperative and intransigent . But at the same time, the deal requires Iran to dilute enriched uranium and block the development of centrifuges and reactors for just 6 months. In exchange, the UN agrees to ease some sanctions on Iranian petrochemical exports and allow access to previously frozen bank accounts. However, the Iranian position seems strangely unbalanced. With relief estimated at just $7 billion for Iran's economy (a tiny fraction of its GDP) and with brutal sanctions on Iranian oil still in place, it is hard to imagine Tehran smiling at this agreement. Therefore, the agreement must lead us to believe that the interim agreement is not a symbol of revolutionary peace nor a fragile foreign policy framework. But the conclusion of the Nov. 24 discussion indicates instead a slight, but forward-looking, shift in Middle East politics — one that the United States and certainly a disadvantaged Iran must recognize. So what's changing? Are Iran and the Middle East finally emerging from the Mediterranean Cold War? Probably not. However, with the election of reformer Hassan Rouhani in June 2013 and the fateful September 27 telephone conversation between US President Barack Obama and Rouhani (the first conversation in...... middle of paper ......ergy , it is a fundamental aspect of their economy and until this is overcome, hopes for cooperation are limited And therefore, these nations must understand that this 6 month grace period is trying to open another door. – that of honest trust and incentives to work with the international community If he hopes to improve his faltering economy as Rouhani has promised, he will need the cooperation of the rest of the world. peace in the Middle East, it will. We must work with one of the major countries in the region And even though it has been a long time since 1957, when the United States and Iran both signed an agreement. civil nuclear cooperation to promote cooperation in research on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, this agreement and the next 6 months. will perhaps show the world that the step taken by Iran is indeed going in the right direction..