A combination of internal changes, domestic issues and sanctions mean that Iran is back at the negotiating table with the U.S.

Last week President Barack Obama and Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani shared a historic phone conversation, the first such high level contact between the two countries for more than 30 years. Alireza Ahmadian looks at the current state of the U.S./Iran relationship, and argues that while U.S. sanctions have had some part to play in encouraging rapprochement, the greater role of reformists and pragmatists in Iran’s government has also had a part to play.