The 2020 Democrats Want to Reenter the Iran Deal. That May Not Be Possible.

It’s Jan. 21, 2021. Still a little bleary-eyed from inauguration festivities, President Pete Buttigieg sits down at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and, with steely determination, signs an executive order lifting the sanctions reimposed on Iran by President Donald Trump in 2018, and recommitting the United States to the 2015 nuclear deal.

At least, that’s the scene that might have come to mind from the South Bend mayor’s first major foreign policy speech on Tuesday. To enthusiastic applause, Buttigieg pledged to “rejoin our international partners and recommit the United States to the Iran nuclear deal. Whatever its imperfections, this was perhaps as close to the real ‘art of the deal’ as diplomatic achievements get.”

Buttigieg wasn’t exactly going out on a limb. Nearly every major Democratic candidate has pledged to reenter the deal. It’s an easy applause line: The deal is very popular, and pledging to reenter it is an easy way to draw a clear distinction with Trump’s foreign policy. Unfortunately, it may not actually be possible.

Read the full article and more in Slate.