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The Risks If Iran Doesn't Become More Moderate with Nuclear Deal
(Wall Street Journal) Aaron David Miller - The durability of the Iran agreement and its benefits for the U.S. depend almost entirely on the moderation of Iran's regime and its behavior in the region. It is virtually impossible to separate Iran's nuclear weapons aspirations from the nature of the regime, its ambitions in the region, or its view of the U.S. The regime that purged Iran of U.S. influence in 1979 has no intention of letting Washington back in. Iran's desire to become a nuclear weapons threshold state is driven by its desire to preserve its highly ideological and authoritarian character. Iranian leaders are looking to protect the 1979 revolution and create a hedge against regime change by hostile powers - principally the U.S. and key Sunni Arab states. Henry Kissinger was right years ago that as long as Iran remains a cause rather than a nation, it will not abandon its nuclear weapons pretensions. Without significant changes in Iran's regime at home and its policies abroad, Iran will not give up its option to weaponize. The writer is a vice president at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars.