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How to Tell If the Iran Talks Are Working

(New York Times) Mark Hibbs, Ariel Levite and George Perkovich - Iran still insists that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful use, and that it will not compromise on its right to enrich uranium. It continues to rebuff the International Atomic Energy Agency's demands for greater cooperation, while threatening retaliation for sanctions imposed on it. But its leaders may be creating room for compromise. Still, tough and protracted negotiations undoubtedly lie ahead. Iran may never surrender some key elements of the hardware or material related to a bomb-making capacity, and its basic knowledge in this domain cannot be unlearned. At another level, any deal with the U.S. might ultimately run counter to preserving the clerical regime, for which opposition to America has long been a core political attitude. The U.S., for its part, would be reluctant to let Iran leave the negotiations with a deal that left its nuclear option viable, bolstered the regime internally, and reinforced its regional influence and ambitions to the detriment of America's allies. Mark Hibbs and Ariel Levite are senior associates of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Nuclear Policy Program, which George Perkovich directs.
2012-04-16 00:00:00
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