If war is diplomacy by other means, diplomacy is never finished. While Israel and Iran are in the midst of what could be an extended war that could spread, the possibility of renewed talks to deal with Iran’s expanding nuclear program should not be discounted.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has argued that the attack on Iran was pre-emptive, to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, even as a sixth round of talks to prevent that very outcome were scheduled between the United States and Iran.
But Iran remains open to negotiating a nuclear deal, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday. “We are prepared for any agreement aimed at ensuring Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons,” he told foreign diplomats in Tehran. But Iran would not accept any deal that “deprives Iran of its nuclear rights,” he added, including the right to enrich uranium, albeit at low levels that can be used for civilian purposes.
Israel did not attack to pre-empt Iran’s race toward a bomb, which Iran denies trying to develop, but to derail negotiations on a deal that Mr. Netanyahu opposes, Mr. Araghchi said.
The attack was “an attempt to undermine diplomacy and derail negotiations,” he continued, a view shared by various Western analysts. “It is entirely clear that the Israeli regime does not want any agreement on the nuclear issue,” he said. “It does not want negotiations and does not seek diplomacy.”
Mr. Netanyahu believes that a deal that would allow Iran to enrich uranium would mean a nuclear-armed Iran in the future, and he has been bent on preventing that outcome. He has apparently judged that a U.S.-Iran deal would have kept him from his goal of destroying Iran’s nuclear program, and, perhaps, he hopes, bringing about the fall of the Islamic Republic.
President Trump, however, says he wants negotiations to succeed. He seems to believe that the attack will bring Iran back to the table in a weaker and more conciliatory position. ButIran insists that it has the right to enrich for civilian uses under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
A quick deal now that would give up enrichment would be seen as a surrender, said Vali Nasr, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies who served in the State Department during the Obama administration. And that could make the regime more vulnerable at home. “They won’t give up enrichment, not this easily,” he said. “They’re not going to surrender.”
Steven Erlanger is the chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe and is based in Berlin. He has reported from over 120 countries, including Thailand, France, Israel, Germany and the former Soviet Union.
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