The part nobody talks about is Iran's imperial ambitions. They want to restore the ancient Persian Empire, from Kabul to Aden to Cairo to Istanbul. They showed their hand in 1935, when they changed the name of their country from Persia to Iran. The word Iran has no direct translation from Farsi, but loosely means, "Empire of the Aryan People." The message to Hitler, "Send us some tanks and Messerschmidts, and we'll meet you at the Bosporus." The Arab leaders know this and it scares them.

I don't think we reinstate the Iran agreement, at least not without some changes. Basically, inspections are ineffective unless you can inspect anywhere, anytime, with short or no notice. The damage is pretty much already done. We should have structured the return of the frozen funds in tranches, say 10% per year for 10 years, contingent on good behavior by Iran. But that ship has sailed, so we have to make the best we can of the situation.

Iran wanted to get their money back and be able to continue bad behavior. Obama and Kerry wanted a piece of paper. Both sides got what they wanted.