(Washington Post) Zalmay Khalilzad - The Trump administration's approach has a reasonable chance of succeeding with Iran. The administration has indicated a willingness to enter into negotiations, even as it escalates pressure against Iran through sanctions, following a policy of maximum pressure, followed by negotiation and deal-making. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo invited Iran to "look at our diplomacy with North Korea" as evidence of the administration's willingness to engage adversaries in negotiations on very complex issues. A race toward nuclear weapons by Iran is fraught with risks. Any such Iranian decision, if it became known, would probably lead the Europeans to join the U.S. in imposing sanctions. Given that Washington has stated that it will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, Tehran would also be risking an attack aimed at its nuclear infrastructure. The Iranians would probably also lose the support of Russia and China. The writer was U.S. ambassador to the UN from 2007 to 2009.
2018-06-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive