انتشار الأسلحة

It is time to press the Iranians to make the tough choices they have been unwilling to make, including through greater involvement in regional crises such as the Syria war.

Washington needs to change the negotiating dynamics so that the next round of talks is more successful than the past year's efforts.

Officials believe a bad deal would leave Iran with the ability to develop more advanced centrifuges, continue with previously undisclosed missile work, avoid intrusive inspections at certain facilities, and 'sneak out' with insufficient warning.

In waiving sanctions related to the nuclear program, the president would also blunt his most effective tools for countering Tehran's other illicit activities, effectively rewarding the regime for steps it has not taken.

Any agreement to cooperate against ISIS without addressing Tehran's own contributions to regional instability would be a Faustian bargain.

By revealing all the offers that Iran has rejected, Washington could block Tehran's potential Plan B, which will likely involve constructing a reasonable public image in order to erode the international sanctions regime.

As the P5+1 and Iran negotiate about the nuclear impasse, Iranian factional politics has heated up. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made disparaging comments about the nuclear negotiations, yet supported continuing the talks. The Rouhani government is facing a variety of criticisms: it is vigorously defending its record at

At present, Iran is unlikely to accept more limitations on its nuclear activities, but that doesn't mean Washington has to settle for a watered-down deal that further damages U.S. strategic interests.

The department's latest public statement seems to cast a positive light on the recent nuclear extension, but its omissions paint a cloudier picture.