Iran nuclear deal: Clock ticks as rivals square up

The window for saving the international nuclear deal with Iran is rapidly narrowing - and a power-struggle inside the Islamic republic between those for and against it could soon seal its fate.

Iran holds crucial presidential elections in June, and hardliners who see the deal as a humiliation want to stall its revival before the polls. The incumbent president, Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate and champion of the deal, cannot stand again following two terms in office. Anti-deal conservatives - already dominant in parliament - hope to replace him with a figure of their own.

While in the US opposition to the deal can generally be split along Republican (against) and Democrat (for) lines, in Iran it involves a more complicated political dynamic. This is because of how Iranian public opinion has largely turned against the regime since US sanctions were re-imposed in 2018 after the administration of former President Donald Trump abandoned the deal.