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Iran Must Be President Obama's Immediate Priority
(Washington Post) Henry A. Kissinger - The most urgent decision facing President Obama is how to stop Iran from pursuing a military nuclear program. Presidents of both parties have long declared that "no option is off the table" in securing this goal. The U.S. and Iran are apparently conducting bilateral negotiations through official or semiofficial emissaries - a departure from the previous procedure of multilateral talks. Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program do not have an encouraging record. To the extent that Iran shows willingness to conduct itself as a nation-state, rather than a revolutionary religious cause, and accepts enforceable verification, elements of Iranian security concerns should be taken seriously, including gradual easing of sanctions as strict limits on enrichment are implemented and enforced. But time will be urgent. Tehran must be made to understand that the alternative to an agreement is not simply a further period of negotiation and that using negotiations to gain time will have grave consequences. A creative diplomacy, allied to a determined strategy, may still be able to prevent a crisis provided the U.S. plays a decisive role in defining permissible outcomes.