Dear U.S. and Iran, welcome back to diplomacy

There are times when measuring success does not necessarily involve using the terms “winners” and “losers.” This time is now and the opportunity is so rare that it cannot be wasted on pointing fingers or trying to score highs or lows.

Iran has a new leadership that speaks a language everyone can understand and the U.S. has a leadership that propagates a message to the world very different from the divisive and alienating context of, “You’re either with us or against us.”

A deal was struck between Iran and the west allowing Iran to halt and even roll back some of its nuclear enrichment and pursuing a peaceful nuclear agenda that is much more transparent and verifiable than what the previous leadership was touting and threatening with. In return, the West won’t impose new tougher sanctions and will ease some of its current economic sanctions offering a rare opportunity for relations that have been dead for decades.

I, for one, would like to take a moment to celebrate this historic feat despite all the comments of shock, dismay, blame, and threats, from various sides.

The loud voices of criticism are mainly disappointed either because no one has asked them their opinion in the first place. Or, because their opinions were ignored or not taken into consideration while the deal was being struck in the utmost sensitivity, even secrecy, it deserves.

For years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has tried helplessly to change President Barack Obama’s position on handling Iran. He tried threatening, he attempted logical persuasion, and he played the fear card to no avail (remember his childish timed bomb drawing presentation at the U.N.?) He, not all of Israel, is intent on bombing Iran to prevent it from reaching its nuclear ambitions. He wanted the U.S. to front his efforts and Obama’s response was never in favor of his bloody plans.

While Netanyahu’s “Historic Mistake” comment is reverberating across Israel and the world, his country’s financial markets have joined their global counterparts in a sigh of relief and a welcome exhilaration with a significant drop in oil prices.

Under the fresh presidency of Hassan Rowhani, Iran and its Mullahs understood the importance of reaching a deal before Obama’s turn ends. This is where the attention should be. If this deal succeeds, all Israel will need is a change of leadership from an extreme un-relenting Netanyahu to a true diplomat who understands the realities on the ground and has the tact to find solutions through diplomacy rather than pursuing further escalation through fear and intimidation.

Across the Middle East, this historic moment is a test of leadership, vision and commitment to the future. In the midst of a desperate turmoil a new hope is born. Now the hard work begins to help it see the light and grow from there.

This article was first published in al-Nahar on Nov. 26. 2013.

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Multi-award-winning journalist Octavia Nasr served as CNN’s senior editor of Middle Eastern affairs, and is regarded as one of the pioneers of the use of social media in traditional media. She moved to CNN in 1990, but was dismissed in 2010 after tweeting her sorrow at the death of Hezbollah’s Mohammed Fadlallah. Nasr now runs her own firm, Bridges Media Consulting, whose main aim is to help companies better leverage the use of social networks.