(Bloomberg) Jeffrey Goldberg - Rouhani obviously looks moderate when compared to Ahmadinejad, a Holocaust-denying lunatic. However, Rouhani hasn't indicated that Iran is open to reversing course on its nuclear program. He has actually said that the regime will not even talk about suspending uranium enrichment. Former CIA officer and Iran expert Reuel Marc Gerecht said of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: "He would disgrace himself before God and his praetorians, the Revolutionary Guards" if he were to give up his nuclear ambitions in exchange for an easing of sanctions. "He has invested everything in the nuclear program. It is the core of the Islamic Republic's defense against America." The Obama administration should test Iran immediately. But these negotiations should be time-limited, and sanctions shouldn't be lifted prematurely - the sanctions are what brought the crisis to this point.
2013-09-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive