The tests have only begun

What is there to say? In Tehran, they were quick to declare that they were looking ahead toward an era of peace, brotherhood, success and everything good. The International Atomic Energy Agency gave the green light, and the sanctions were lifted.

But that gift was for protocol only. The Western world, even before the IAEA confirmed at the end of last week that Iran had complied with its obligations under the nuclear deal, had already begun treating Iran like any other country, and what's more, courting it as a market for their products and opening Western markets to the famous Rafsanjani pistachios.

But another part of the world, the one known as the Middle East, remains shocked and beaten in light of Iran's diplomatic and economic successes as a result of the deal, which has allowed it to strengthen and preserve its nuclear capabilities with an IAEA report that whitewashes Iran and characterizes it as a peaceful nation and desirable from an economic perspective. That same Middle East could see things completely differently.

Before we can understand how the Arab world sees the deal, it is important to understand how the citizens of Iran see it. It is pretty clear that Iran is in a state of euphoria. Now that the sanctions have finally been removed (and how odd is it that those sanctions never affected ordinary people, but the regime knew how to spin them so the people would believe that the world was against them), and because they have been removed, Iran will enjoy economic comfort. True, Iran has announced that it will purchase 114 Airbus planes and various other technologies from all over the world, but in the end, Iran is asking itself how it will pay for all of it.

Iran is one of the world's oil producers, and in recent months the price of oil has been dropping, currently standing at $37 a barrel. The tussle with Saudi Arabia will not lend itself to cooperation between the two countries to raise the price, and since the U.S. -- also a leading oil producer -- won't allow that to happen, either, Saudi Arabia has realized that it will not be able to raise the price of oil any time soon. So it has taken a brave social approach (which has never been successfully tested in the country) and reduced government subsidies to Saudi citizens. In other words, the Saudi government has started to wean the people off the portion of meat they've gotten for free for decades, paid for by the hefty oil revenue.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei know that they will soon need to square things with Saudi Arabia on everything regarding subsidies to their populaces. In effect, they have no other choice. Acquiring airplanes and opening Iran's doors to the developing tourism industry at the expense of neighboring Turkey (which is awash in bloodshed) are the result of an understanding that if oil does not bring in the money, tourism will bring in foreign dollars, which will delay the reduction to government subsidies. The ear-to-ear smiles Rouhani has been showing off are more out of a total lack of confidence, because Iran's entire economy is built on this agreement. Back when oil prices were high, Iran could take the sanctions and still provide for the people. When there are no sanctions and the price of oil has bottomed out, Iran does not have a lot of choices.

And back to the Arab world. You could say that the Arab world can continue its "game" and its envy of Iran. But I'm certain that the inner circles of the wealthy regimes in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states, who see Iran as a constant, irritating problem, are wishing for its economic destruction -- and if it comes from within, so much the better. Iranian citizens have been brought up to blame the Western world for their financial problems resulting from the sanctions, and it seems they will soon start pointing their fingers at their own government, a finger that quite rightfully frightens the Iranian regime.

Dr. Ronen A. Cohen is head of the Israel and Middle Eastern Studies Department at Ariel University.