Dispatches

Tough talk about the battle between "good" and  "evil" states didn't do much to convince Iran to cooperate with the international community. Go figure.

Now, there's increasing evidence that soft power is getting things done that hard threats couldn't.

Iranian negotiators have agreed deal to ship most of their nation's nuclear fuel to Russia for processing — an arrangement that would prevent the possibility that Iran could make a nuclear weapon.

If finalized, it would be a big win for the Obama administration in the Middle East and a strong vindication of Obama's emphasis on engaging America's enemies through diplomacy.

As Bahman Baktiari, the director of the University of Utah's Middle East Center, told me last week:  "I think the Obama administration has been very open and forthcoming in terms of its interest in unconditional dialogue with Iran. This has been a major change. Now, the Iranians have to come forward and reward Obama with some changes in policy."

Wednesday's agreement appears to be a part* of that reward — although Obama is known to have his eye on an even bigger peace prize.

No, not the Nobel. He's already got one of those.

But in a hastily arranged speech in the Whitehouse Rose Garden, a few hours after the surprise announcement from the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Obama pledged "an unwavering commitment that finally realizes the rights of all Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security in nations of their own."

And Baktiari believes normalization of relations with Iran — which supports Hamas and its efforts to destroy the Israeli state — is a big step in the right direction.

"The whole issue of peace in the Middle East is tied to U.S.-Iran relations," he said.

And if Obama is successful on that front, he may have cause to believe that no problem in the Middle East is too big to be solved.

* There's still a long way to go before Washington and Tehran are sitting around a campfire singing Kum-bah-yah.