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Iran Uses Negotiations to Play for Time

[Jerusalem Post] Ephraim Asculai and Emily Landau - A new Brookings Institution and Council on Foreign Relations study concludes that the only way to gain a change in Iran's attitude is to engage it in constructive dialogue. The most serious deficiency of the report - and indeed of much of the current debate on the question of possible U.S.-Iranian negotiations - is the lack of sufficient attention to the question of whether Iran will be serious in negotiating with the U.S. Iran has demonstrated that it uses negotiations to play for time. Even if Iran is ultimately interested in a negotiated deal with the West, it knows that the further it advances its program, the better its bargaining position will be. Therefore, Iran's rational choice is to continue to play for time until it has gained the upper hand in its nuclear program - when it has produced enough enriched uranium for the production of a few nuclear explosive devices. The major challenge is to convince Iranian decision-makers to start negotiating seriously. For this, massive pressure on Iran is necessary - economic pressure, political pressure and the credible threat of military force. Without such pressure, it is difficult to see why Iran's leaders would believe it to be in their interest to enter serious negotiations. Iran cannot be allowed to gain the precious time it needs to arrive at a potential that would increase its bargaining position multifold. The writers are senior research associates at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.
2008-12-10 08:00:00
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