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U.S. Must Extract Ironclad Commitments from Iran on Nuclear Disarmament and Missile Limits or Risk Watching the Regime Recover
(Israel Hayom) Meir Ben Shabbat - Despite Iranian denials that advanced discussions between the parties are underway, every sign points to a mutual American and Iranian desire to reach an agreement. In any case, for as long as the Iranian regime exists, it will not change its aspirations and will not change its ways. The current war will provide it with a clear justification for the view that only a military nuclear capability can guarantee its survival. Accordingly, it will spare no effort to achieve that. The easing of military pressure will create conditions for the rapid recovery of the regime. To prevent it, Washington will need to keep economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation in place for a considerable period. The nuclear issue is an additional challenge - not only the removal and destruction of the enriched uranium in Iran's possession, but also the prevention of any enrichment on Iranian soil, along with effective oversight mechanisms to permanently foreclose the possibility of producing or acquiring nuclear weapons. Further challenges concern the imposition of limits on the missile program and halting Iranian support for proxy organizations. Military pressure is working. The very fact that Iran is seeking to negotiate even after the elimination of its supreme leader is testimony to that. The writer, head of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, served as Israel's National Security Council head during 2017-2021.