Proliferation

If Washington does not maintain pressure on Iran, it will validate the regime's strategy of defiance, provocation, and delay.

There is no daylight between the United States and Israel on the objective and the preferred means for dealing with Iranian nuclear ambitions. Much has been written about possible differences, but the recent meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted key points of convergence: Both agree that

Whether by choice or through the military's influence, Ayatollah Khamenei has decided to keep a formerly marginalized regime figure -- and, by extension, the possibility of nuclear compromise -- in play.

Notwithstanding their differing perspectives on the subject, the less daylight seen between Washington and Israel regarding Iran, the better.

As the confrontation with Iran enters a new, more dangerous phase, Washington must avoid the temptation of redefining its red lines in a manner that endangers national security.

Washington and Israel need to address their public messaging on Iran, which has undermined mutual trust and efforts to achieve their common objective: a diplomatic solution to the nuclear crisis.

The Iranian nuclear threat will challenge Obama and Netanyahu's sometimes-rocky relationship like never before.

Washington and its allies can still prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons through nonmilitary means.

Much of the rhetoric surrounding the Iranian nuclear impasse has been marked by Tehran's staunch refusal to budge and pessimism among Western analysts that increasingly strong diplomatic and economic measures will ever have their desired effect. Yet several avenues for progress have opened up amid an environment of incrementally effective