Is it Iraq all over again? As revelations of Iran’s second enrichment plant, threats of tough sanctions and claims of a renewed weaponisation programme accelerated this month, Tehran’s nuclear dispute had disturbing echoes of the struggle against Iraq and the ill-fated weapons of mass destruction saga.

But just as tensions were reaching fever pitch, a measure of diplomatic progress at last week’s Geneva talks gave respite to all sides. It also helped to underline that it might be easy to make parallels between Iran and Iraq but the differences could prove more relevant than the similarities.