People in the capital, Tehran, and other major cities gathered outside after iftar, the evening meal to break the day-long fasting during Ramadan. There were reports of drivers on Tehran’s long, tree-lined Vali Asr street honking horns and people with hands raised in V-for-victory signs and waving from open windows.
Young Iranians danced in Vanak square in north Tehran. Such behaviour is officially banned in the Islamic republic but was tolerated in such a rare moment of national unity.
A smiling woman held a flower and a poster depicting Iran’s foreign minister who is also its lead nuclear negotiators, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who has become a national hero in Iran for successfully resolving the nuclear impasse. Others congratulated themselves on social networks and via text messages.
Analysts and pundits across the political spectrum welcomed the success of the diplomatic marathon that peacefully resolved the 12-year confrontation. Iranians hope the deal and the lifting of sanctions will end their country’s international isolation, ease its economic problems and allow it to play a bigger role in the region.
President Hassan Rouhani, addressing the nation live on national television, said the agreement was “an important juncture in the history of our country and revolution” and “a new chapter” had begun, showing that sophisticated world problems “could be solved through less costly ways”.
“Today is an end and a beginning,” he said. “An end to baseless claims and a beginning for a new phase in international relations ... our people prayed for a good deal during this fasting month of Ramadan. I can announce that their prayers have been answered.”
Gholamhossein Karbaschi, a former Tehran mayor and a leading reformist, said the nuclear accord would have even greater strategic importance than the 1988 truce that ended the eight-year war with Iraq, a watershed moment in modern Iranian history.
“This is a new opportunity both for Iran and the world,” he told the Guardian by phone from the capital. “The world can now find a new partner in restoring the peace and security of our region.
“Iran will also find an opportunity to take tangible steps to resolve its economic problems resulting from sanctions.”
Karbaschi recalled that Iran helped Washington in Afghanistan after the 11 September 2001 attacks but later lost trust in the US when President George W Bush notoriously labelled Tehran as part of an “axis of evil”, along with Iraq and North Korea. This deal could help to restore that broken trust, he said.
Hamidreza Jalaeipour, a Tehran University sociologist and a member of the reformist Participation Front, said Rouhani had fulfilled his campaign promise to resolve the nuclear issue, which was why millions voted for him in the 2013 presidential election.
“This deal is positive by itself firstly because it shows that such a complicated issue could be resolved through patient dialogue,” Jalaeipour said. “It is also important because it was a collective effort. It wasn’t only the government pushing for it, but the main forces behind the state were also behind it, so were the people.”
A minority of hardliners at home and abroad would remain unhappy with the success of diplomacy, Jalaeipour predicted. The fear is that they might refuse to admit defeat and instead attempt to sabotage the agreement.
Critics of the nuclear deal have often cited the statement of the founding leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, that he drank from a “poisoned chalice” when accepting the end of the war with Iraq. They warn that his successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is doing the same now.
Sadegh Zibakalam, professor of politics at Tehran University, and a rare critic of the nuclear programme, said: “In years to come, people will refer to the agreement as a landmark in modern Iranian history. Things are bound to change for the better economically. But on the political front things are more complicated.”
Zibakalam and other reformists believe the deal will not only boost Rouhani’s popularity but probably guarantee him a second presidential term in 2017. Before that, parliamentary elections for the Majlis next March are expected to be an opportunity for the reformist camp to make gains, though many prospective candidates are likely to be disqualified.
“Rouhani has highlighted the nuclear issue as the key to success,” said Mohamed Ali Vakil, editor of the reformist newspaper Ebtekar. “No, there will not be strategic changes, but when sanctions are lifted the sense of optimism will create a more positive atmosphere and that will help.
“Rouhani’s government will have more legitimacy and that will weaken the hardliners and strengthen the progressives,” he said.
But there are dangers ahead. “Some people think things will get harder because the small but powerful minority that does not like any rapprochement with the west will be violent,” suggested Mahshid, an independent businesswoman. “Historically, whenever reforms go too far, the conservatives create havoc. But you do hope it will be a landmark because by negotiating with the west and being open to a conversation as opposed to belligerence you are rejigging one of the tenets of the revolution.”
Iranians who oppose the agreement said they feared their leaders may suffer the same fate as Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi: surrendering their nuclear capability and then seeing regime change. “The Libyans gave up their nuclear facilities but then Gaddafi was destroyed,” warned Qasem, who runs a stationery supply business near Tehran University.
Foad Ezadi, an academic and hardliner, said: “If there is a lasting agreement, you will see some change because the camp arguing for better relations with the west will be in a better situation.”
But he was sceptical: “Imagine if the economic benefits don’t come. Imagine if sanctions are suspended, but Obama or his successor does not follow through; then it will be a disaster.”
Sadeq Kharrazi, a former Iranian ambassador to the UN , said the deal would reduce regional tensions and create “a new opportunity to find a way to put out the fire in the Middle East”. He said that the nuclear talks marked the first time Iran was negotiating from a position of strength. “It also ends the cold war between Iran and the US and they will be able to come to know each other more realistically.”
Seyed Reza Akrami, a senior conservative from Rouhani’s office, said the deal proved to the world that Iran was a reasonable country and that its nuclear intentions were entirely peaceful. “After 22 months, the government consolidated Iran’s right to enrichment,” he said. “For many years, they spread propaganda against us that we were pursuing nuclear weapons but now it has become clear that not only we are against such weapons but we seek a region free from WMD [weapons of mass destruction].”
Iran would cooperate with the US on other regional issues only if Washington upheld Tehran’s interests, Akrami said. “The only country with which we will never cooperate is Israel because it’s a bogus state and an oppressor,” he said, highlighting an issue that will be seized on by US opponents of the agreement.
The nuclear talks prompted many jokes online. Noting the coincidence of negotiations in Europe over both Iran and Greece, one Twitter user wrote: “Overworked western diplomats, under deadline pressure, agree to debt relief for Iran, nuclear programme for Greece.”
