I was rather surprised these weeks that media were flooded with coverage of Rouhani’s announcement that “Iran renounces the development of nuclear weapons” because there’s nothing new in this recent announcement, as a look at Russian, English or Farsi websites shows. He simply reiterated that the creation of nuclear weapons would contradict the fatwah (decree) by Ayatollah Khamenei that forbids the production, storage and use of any of WMD. This was not a formal, first-time declaration but has been repeatedly voiced by Iran. If you want to know my opinion, however contradictory this may sound, Iran will adhere to this this fatwah while striving to achieve breakout capability. Iran will not deny itself the right to enrichment uranium for this reason and because its population of approximately 80 million needs cheaper energy. But again, Iran is tired of sanctions. It is ready to make concessions. Rouhani, known as the “Sheikh of Diplomacy” for his successful negotiations in October 2009, is holding the presidential reigns now, so we are seeing more flexibility.