An agreement to revive the nuclear deal with Iran appears possible as the United States and its partners are set to convene next week in Vienna for the sixth round of talks with Iranian diplomats since April. That’s welcome news, as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the deal’s full name, imposed important restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions.

But some key provisions of the deal have an expiration date. That’s why a critical aspect of the process should be to open the way to further agreements that might soothe real concerns about Iran’s long-term ambitions and curtail an incipient nuclear arms race in the region. Ideally, the result would be a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East. The Biden administration apparently understands this, which is why it has vowed to pursue a “longer and stronger” agreement in the future.

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Read the rest of the op-ed at The New York Times.