(Washington Post) Editorial - After five days of fruitless talks between Iran and the U.S.' European allies in Vienna last week, reviving the 2015 deal seems more quixotic than ever. President Biden must prepare in deadly earnest for what comes next. It appears increasingly likely that Iran is treating the Vienna sessions as an opportunity to air grievances against the U.S., and make demands it knows the Biden administration cannot meet, as a prelude to definitive repudiation of the deal. If diplomacy fails at Vienna, the U.S. will have to forge a common approach among its European and Middle Eastern allies, one that simultaneously deters Iran, punishes aggression and dangles rewards for peaceful behavior. Russia and China - which endorsed the original 2015 deal due to their own concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran - will be in a position either to spoil U.S. strategy or, quietly, enable it.
2021-12-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive