On Sunday Tuomioja welcomed Iran’s agreement to halt some uranium enrichment for six months.
"There’s been a lack of good news, especially from the wider Middle East," said Tuomioja. "If this goes forward and the agreement is observed, it could help solve other problems in the region."
Tuomioja is particularly thinking of the warring parties in Syria, who may soon convene to discuss a diplomatic solution to that conflict. Any resolution would need the support of powerful players in the region, including Iran.
"If this could lead to Iranian participation in the hoped-for Geneva-2 conference, then it would raise the chances of securing a peace deal," observed Tuomioja.
Although he is optimistic, Tuomioja warns that this is only one step in a long process. He says that the deal is likely to be the result of the new Iranian president Hassan Rouhani’s more immoderate public statements, and the effect of sanctions making Iran more amenable to a deal.
Reaction to the agreement has not been universally positive, however. Israel has been critical of the agreement, which it says gives Iran much of what it wants.
"Israel is not a party to this deal," observes Tuomioja. "It feels as though Israel does not trust anything but the politics of power. This now represents of the will of a broad section of the international community, including all permanent members of the UN Security Council, that it feels like the only sensible and viable option."
