(CNN) -- If you're confused about whether the Iran deal is an awe-inspiring breakthrough or a cataclysmic disaster, let me help you: The answer is it depends. It depends on what happens in the coming six months. And not just six months from now, but what happens between now and then: a period during which Iran and the world powers are supposed to abide by the deal they made in Geneva last weekend and work to hammer out a permanent agreement. If the Geneva deal in its current form becomes permanent because the two sides can't get to a final resolution and drag out its current terms (the six-month period is "renewable by mutual consent," says the so-called Joint Plan of Action), then what occurred this weekend will mark a calamitous turning point, triggering a chain of events that brings about the very developments that Obama -- and most of the world -- want to avoid.
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Frida Ghitis: Whether Iran deal a breakthrough or disaster depends on next 6 months
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She says if deal is extended beyond then, it will trigger chain of events Obama won't want
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She says Arab Persian Gulf nations threatened by prospect of Iran nukes
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Ghitis: If U.S. can bring deal to a final resolution, it can forestall regional arms race
Many people incorrectly describe the @placeholder as a freeze on Iran's nuclear program.