Director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attend a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 25, 2020 (AP photo by Vahid Salemi).

In the four decades since Iran’s Islamic Revolution, relations between Tehran and Washington have seen deep enmity offset by brief periods of rapprochement and tactical cooperation. As a new U.S. administration settles into office and asserts its intent to, in President Joe Biden’s words, “offer Tehran a credible path back to diplomacy,” one of those periods may be on the horizon again. The Obama administration pursued diplomatic engagement with the Islamic Republic, holding direct as well as multilateral talks that culminated in the 2015 deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program, officially the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. Under […]