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Tehran Needs to Drop the Defiance

(Financial Times-UK) Roula Khalaf - With every looming round of nuclear negotiations with Iran, the same refrain is heard in Western capitals: this is Tehran's "last chance." But then the talks fail, and Iran moves one or several steps forward with its nuclear program without quite having to confront the "last chance." The consequences of failure in the talks starting in Istanbul this weekend will be enormously costly. The U.S. appears convinced that Israel will resort to military action as early as this summer if the nuclear negotiations do not produce progress. The U.S. administration needs Iran's leader Ayatollah Khamenei to understand that Israel will go ahead with military strikes this year despite U.S. opposition, without ruling out American military options in the future. The objective of the talks is not a comprehensive solution to the nuclear dilemma but a limited deal that neutralizes the Fordow underground nuclear facility, which is outside the reach of Israeli military planners. This is where Iran has been enriching uranium to 20%, a level that would allow it to easily switch to the higher weapons-grade purity. Suspending the enrichment and sending the existing stockpile out of Iran would be a first step towards putting an end to nuclear activities at Fordow.
2012-04-16 00:00:00
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