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It's no secret that President Trump is sharply at odds with his top advisers. But what does that mean for the direction of US foreign policy?聽

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Will she or won't she? Many Senate-watchers had been holding their breath, wondering if Republican Sen. Susan Collins would be leaving Congress to run for the governor of Maine. Today, many of them heaved a sigh of relief.

Does America's economic recovery depend ... on geography? Researchers say new solutions and fresh thinking may be needed to ensure a better distribution of wealth throughout the US.聽

Frederick Wiseman鈥檚 voluminously fascinating documentary 鈥淓x Libris鈥� is ostensibly about the New York Public Library system. But, like all of this 87-year- old director鈥檚 best work, it鈥檚 actually about a great deal more.

In what Tehran鈥檚 leaders might call an act of heroic flexibility, President Trump has decided not to blow up a 2015 deal 鈥� as he once promised 鈥� that has so far curbed Iran鈥檚 nuclear program. Mr. Trump now seems persuaded of the strategic reasons to honor the international pact. Instead, in an Oct. 13 speech, he left the issue of whether to scuttle the deal up to Congress and, by default, American public opinion.

But what are Americans to make of the deal now, especially as Iran could again become a nuclear threat? Under the pact, Iran can resume processing uranium in 2031. That 鈥渟unset鈥� provision was the best that the West could do in the negotiations. And it represents a perception among many experts that Iran will not be nearly as dangerous in 14 years.

The deal鈥檚 success depends on deep social trends among Iranians, especially its large population of young people. Through their street protests, thirst for Western culture and ideas, and votes for moderates in rigged elections, they have shown an independence of conscience after living for decades under Muslim clerics who claim a divine right to rule.

As a leading expert on Iran, Ray Takeyh at the Council on Foreign Relations, put it recently:

鈥淭he Iranians have given up not just on the Islamic Republic, but even on religious observance, as mosques go empty during most Shia commemorations. Three decades of theocratic rule has transformed Iran into one of the most secular nations in the world. The middle class and the working poor are equally hard pressed by the regime鈥檚 incompetence and corruption. Even the senior ayatollahs are beginning to realize the toll that has taken on Shia Islam by its entanglement with politics.鈥�

And in a recent survey of young clerics in Iran鈥檚 sacred city of Qoms, scholar Abbas Mehregan found 52.5 percent reject the use of violence to guide people to 鈥渞eal鈥� Islam. (One-third do not tolerate religious diversity.)

鈥淭his implies the creation and gradual expansion of a softer interpretation of Shia Islam in Iran,鈥� he writes. 鈥淚n other words, Shia believers have a free choice in the multivocal market of religious ideas.鈥�

Such readings of shifts in Iranian society suggest Americans should support the nuclear pact even as the United States and its allies keep Iran in check on other issues, such as the Iranian missile program and the regime鈥檚 support for terrorist groups.

Iranian-style theocratic rule, which is not popular among most of the world鈥檚 Muslims, defies a person鈥檚 capacity to live by the light of reason, faith, and a respect for equality and the opinion of others. A religion must not impose itself by coercion, only by example and peaceful persuasion.

In his speech, Trump spoke at times directly to the Iranian people. It was a wise move, one often done by his predecessors. More Iranians are eager for ideas different than the dictates of unelected theocrats.

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