The Lebanese are wondering what the recent interim deal over Iran’s nuclear program means for them. There is a proverb that says, “If you sit by the river long enough, you will see the body of your enemy float by.” In Lebanon, sit by the river long enough, and you will see the region’s bodies floating by, as everything bad in the Middle East tends to wash up on the country’s troubled shores.

 

For the opponents of Iran, the recent deal, which lifted some sanctions on the Islamic Republic, is regarded as threatening. It may free up billions of dollars, allowing Tehran to readily finance its military operations in the Arab world, including Hezbollah’s.

 

Moreover, a rapprochement between Iran and the United States, they fear, will give Tehran greater latitude to pursue its political agenda without intervention from the United States, which doesn’t want to jeopardize future negotiations over a final nuclear deal with Iran. [Link]