| Summary/Abstract |
The end of the 19th century, Lord Curzon, then the British Viceroy of India, described Iran and its neighboring Arab countries as “pieces on a chessboard upon which is being played out a game for the domination of the world.” Fast-forward to the 21st century and not much has changed, as the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West have started to show implications well beyond the Middle East peacemaking process, even spilling over into the European Union’s strategic decisions on how to consciously uncouple from Russia’s gas supply monopoly. So far, while Iran reached an interim one year deal with the West in early 2013 to freeze all nuclear activities on the condition of being provided with a temporary easing of some sanctions, the pace of progress remains slow. For now, the West is failing to propose an attractive policy that would alter the intransigent stand of the Iranians.
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