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Iran Tries to Increase Leverage in Future Negotiations with U.S.
(NBC News) Dan De Luce - Iran's decision to dramatically increase uranium enrichment is designed to strengthen its hand in future negotiations. Richard Goldberg, who served on President Trump's National Security Council, said Iran's expanded enrichment work and other actions are designed to create "an atmosphere of crisis" with the aim of prompting a response from Washington. "It's notable that the steps they take are almost always modulated to go far enough to create a media frenzy but not go too far as to provoke an American or Israeli strike," said Goldberg, now a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Jake Sullivan, President-elect Biden's national security adviser, told CNN on Sunday that once Iran returns to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal there would be a "follow-on negotiation" over its missile capabilities. "In that broader negotiation, we can ultimately secure limits on Iran's ballistic missile technology." Iran, however, has ruled out any negotiations over its ballistic missiles.