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Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21546/iran-will-not-abandon-nuclear-program
Iran's Mullahs Will Not Abandon Their Nuclear Program
(Gatestone Institute) Dr. Majid Rafizadeh - The Trump administration is engaging with the Iranian regime to prevent Iran from an imminent nuclear weapons breakout. Iran's acceptance of talks is a tactic. Cornered by growing U.S. and Israeli threats, the mullahs seem to be seeking to buy time and ease the pressure. Tehran only negotiates when it is desperate. Tehran understands full well that refusing to talk could invite devastating consequences. That is why the regime is willing to engage. Tehran's hold over the region has been weakening. Internally, the economy is near collapse. Under these conditions, who would refuse to talk, especially when the alternative is an Israeli-American air campaign targeting its nuclear facilities. Tehran has played this game before: Agree to talks. Make vague promises. Extract sanctions relief. Then quietly continue nuclear development under the radar. This formula has worked for more than two decades. The only reason Iran is talking is to stall, to promise just enough to prevent America from striking it and seeing its uranium centrifuges and enrichment sites blasted to rubble. But the regime cannot accept total nuclear disarmament. It is naive, even dangerous, to believe that Iran will dismantle its nuclear program. This is a regime that has spent decades investing billions of dollars, building secret facilities and deceiving international inspectors. Since the early 2000s, when Iran's clandestine program was first exposed, U.S. presidents have tried every approach imaginable. None of these efforts worked. The Islamic Republic has smoothly outmaneuvered every administration. It has accepted deals to avoid confrontation, then quietly violated them. With each round of negotiations, Iran gained time, money, legitimacy - and gave away nothing it could not reverse. Further talks will only serve Iran's interests. The Islamic Republic has demonstrated that it cannot be trusted to negotiate in good faith. Hoping for a different outcome is self-deceptive make-believe.