After years of negotiations, world powers have reached a historic deal with Iran, limiting their nuclear activity in return for the lifting of international economic sanctions.

The deal has been met with a mixed response – some celebrate it as a diplomatic triumph, while others describe it as a precursor to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

For the first First Wednesday after the summer break we will be debating what the Iran deal means for the country, the region and relations with the West.

Chaired by Azadeh Moaveni, a former Middle East correspondent for Time magazine, she has reported on Iran and the region for much of the past decade. She is the author of Lipstick Jihad, Honeymoon in Tehran, and co-author, with Shirin Ebadi, of Iran Awakening.

The panel:

Kasra Naji is special correspondent for BBC Persian TV and author of Ahmedinejad: The Secret History of Iran’s Radical Leader.

Saeed Kamali Dehghan is a staff journalist with the Guardian. He has previously written from the Iranian capital, Tehran. He is now based in London and was named 2010 Journalist of the Year at the Foreign Press Association awards.

James Rubin is a writer, commentator and lecturer on world affairs and US foreign policy. He contributes a weekly column to The Sunday Times. He served under President Clinton as assistant secretary of state for public affairs and chief spokesman for secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright from 1997 to May 2000.

Con Coughlin is The Telegraph‘s defence editor and chief foreign commentator. He is the author of several books including Churchill’s First War: Young Winston and the fight against the Taliban, Saddam: His Rise and Fall, and Khomeini’s Ghost: The Iranian Revolution and the Rise of Militant Islam.

With a panel of experts and journalists we will be examining the political realignment taking place in the Middle East and North Africa.

We will be asking what the shifts in Arab world mean for Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia: What is Israel’s likely response to the emerging democracies that are replacing autocrats who held onto power in the name of “stability” in the region. How will countries like Egypt respond to Israel in the future and how will the balance of power change?

We will be looking to at how Iran and Saudi Arabia respond to the changes taking place and the role of the Arab League in the future.

In association with BBC Arabic

Chaired by Sam Farah, the lead presenter of BBC Arabic’s flagship interactive programme Nuqtat Hewar (Talking Point).

With:

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst;

Abdel Bari Atwan, since 1989 he has been the editor-in-chief of Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a major independent pan-Arab daily newspaper published in London and author of The Secret History of al-Qa’ida and A Country of Words, his memoir.

William Morris, Secretary General of the Next Century Foundation, formerly a journalist and publisher he has been involved in the Middle East for more than 30 years. As Chairman of the International Media Council he has led press delegations to Iraq, Palestine, Israel, Egypt and Syria.

Picture credit: Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs