Secret diplomatic talks in Germany have reportedly produced a breakthrough in efforts to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. "We are ready to pursue a return to compliance with our JCPOA commitments consistent with Iran also doing the same," said State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Thursday.

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The normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced earlier this month is a relatively minor adjustment in relations between two countries that were never at war and have been growing closer for years, but it heralds the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict as we thought we knew it.

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Early this morning a British-educated Iranian colleague I've known for 20 years messaged me on Facebook. I won't mention his name.

He's no friend of the Iranian regime, but not a staunch enemy of it either (rare among Iranian expatriates), which is one reason why I found him to be a fruitful research collaborator back in the day and have found his insights invaluable over the years.

But something seems to have changed. Here is the transcript (my colleague's messages in red) , with annotations:

Hey Gertrude
Last night we bitch slapped you
Happy New Year!

Can you dial back the "we" bit a little, buddy?

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^{Originally published under the title, "Israel Doesn't Owe Trump Much for Finally Moving the Embassy to Jerusalem."}

Ever since Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital last December, Israelis have been told to brace themselves for a hefty quid pro quo under his long-awaited peace plan. "You won one point, and you'll give up some points later on in the negotiation," the president told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a joint news conference in January. Last month, he explained that Israel will pay "a higher price" because the U.S. moved its embassy to West Jerusalem on his watch — and that the Palestinians will "get something very good, because it's their turn next."

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