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Iran's Diplomatic Path to the Bomb
(Wall Street Journal Europe) Reuel Marc Gerecht and Mark Dubowitz - The Nov. 24 deadline is approaching with dwindling hope for a deal in part because Iran has already gotten so much that it wants. During the 2012 negotiations leading to the interim deal, the White House accommodated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's red lines against reducing enrichment capacity and foreclosing an industrial-size program. Iran thus got its wish to continue programs for uranium enrichment, long-range ballistic missiles and centrifuge development. Iran further refused to accept intrusive UN or other inspections, balked at dismantling the heavy-water reactor at Arak, and declined to discuss past weaponization research. It also won agreement that any restrictions on its nuclear program would be of limited duration. Tehran has treated the U.S. concessions to its demands as permanent - effectively making further diplomatic advances contingent on greater Western "flexibility." Ayatollah Khamenei has no intention of "freezing" Iran's nuclear advance. The weapons program has developed massively on his watch, and in his eyes it is probably essential for the survival of the revolution. Mr. Gerecht, a former CIA Iranian-targets officer, is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Mr. Dubowitz is executive director.