The U.S. and Iran's long road to a nuclear deal

Obama and Rouhani have so far artfully navigated very tricky political terrain, but they're not out of the woods yet

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(Image credit: (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite))

The first phase of the U.S.-led international effort to address the Iranian nuclear program ended this week, but the second has just begun.

On Monday, Iran began to implement an interim accord signed in November with the U.S. and its partners in the P5+1 (the permanent five members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany). Known as the Joint Plan of Action (JPA), the agreement offers Iran limited and reversible sanctions relief in exchange for halting key elements of its nuclear program, reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium (thereby lengthening the time in which it could conceivably dash toward a nuclear weapon), and dramatically increasing access to its nuclear facilities for inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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Matthew Duss is president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, based in Washington, DC.