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U.S. Must Play Hardball in Nuclear Talks with Iran
(Wall Street Journal) Michael Singh - As it prepares for four more months of nuclear talks with Iran, the U.S. faces a disadvantage: Even if there is ultimately no agreement, Tehran will pocket the considerable concessions Washington has already made. Iran will then argue that it has proven its reasonableness and that sanctions should no longer be respected. The challenge for U.S. negotiators, then, is not just to reach an agreement but also to change Iranians' minds about the consequences of not reaching an agreement. The Obama administration has made clear that it is more willing than its predecessors to accept a large Iranian nuclear program and engaging directly with Tehran to build trust. Meanwhile, it has failed to persuade Iran that rejecting a deal would have alarming consequences. From Iran's perspective the alternative to negotiations is just more negotiations. This diminishes its incentive to accept even a generous deal. Major concessions were made in the interim agreement, before the current round of talks even began. As a result, the U.S. began the most recent talks having largely already reached our bottom line. The writer, managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, worked on Middle East issues at the U.S. National Security Council from 2005 to 2008.