The Joint Plan of Action, an agreement signed by Iran and P5+1 countries, the five permanent members of UN Security Council and Germany, on Nov 24, 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland, comes into effect on Monday. According to the plan, Iran will temporarily freeze parts of its nuclear program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions. This has laid the foundation for further negotiations.

The agreement was made possible by the change in the relationship between the United States and Iran. The genesis of this change can be traced back to June, 2013, when moderate politician Hassan Rouhani won the presidential election. Actually, Rouhani had vowed to improve relations with the West even before his victory. As soon as he took office in August, the US and Iran started negotiations through the Sultan of Oman and achieved a consensus in September.

The UN General Assembly in the same month also marked an essential breakthrough in the process. In his speech, US President Barack Obama for the first time recognized Iran's right to peacefully use nuclear power, and demonstrated that they have no intention of changing Iran's regime. When Rouhani left the United Nations for the airport, the two Presidents had exchanged a call - the first between the leaders of the two countries in 34 years.