The U.S. And Iran Have A Long Way To Go Before They Can Really Be Friends

KARACHI, Pakistan — Saturday’s news of a U.S.-Iran prisoner swap seems at first glance to suggest that the two countries may grow closer following last year’s nuclear deal. The announcement of the largely unexpected exchange even overshadowed the later announcement that Iran had upheld its part of the nuclear agreement by implementing monitoring measures and extending how long it would take for it to build a nuclear weapon.
But to many Muslim world leaders, the U.S. push toward closer ties with Iran is desperately flawed. And unless those countries — such as the powerful Gulf states — change their opinion, the U.S. can’t fully embrace Iran as the strategic partner some say it should be.