Iran Nuclear Deal Could Win Nobel Peace Prize

The main facilitators of the 2015 accord on Iran’s nuclear program, which has been slammed as the worst deal ever by US President Donald Trump, could be among the top contenders for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, according to researchers who predict potential winners, as cited by Bloomberg. Federica Mogherini, the European Union foreign policy chief, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, are the best candidates because they convened the process that ended with the easing of sanctions against Tehran in return for nuclear restrictions, according to Henrik Urdal, director of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, which prepares a shortlist each year with mixed results. “The threat of the use of nuclear-arm force is more real than it has been, with North Korea being in play as well,” Urdal said to reporters last week in Oslo. “It’s important to support initiatives that prevent the development and proliferation of nuclear arms.” Tehran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. Leaving John Kerry out was no criticism of the former US secretary of state’s role in the deal, the PRIO director said, but could be a way of highlighting to Trump that it has broad international support.