On 2 January 2016, an unidentified group of protesters torched the Saudi embassy in Iran. In this Q&A, Crisis Group Senior Iran Analyst Ali Vaez explains the context of the incident and the wider long-term implications of the attack.
Some in the West hope the nuclear deal with Iran will empower the country’s moderates. But playing Iranian domestic politics directly could backfire. The West should recognise that any change will be gradual, best supported by implementing the nuclear accord, resuming trade, and diplomacy that balances Iranian and Arab interests in the Middle East.
The U.S. has to think about how it will cope in the international arena if it rejects the JCPOA after the rest of the world has accepted it.
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