Current Edition About Subscribe The Jerusalem Center

Daily Alert Archive

Every Daily Alert Since 2002

Search

Search more than 90,000 news items by topic, author, or source.
Use " " to search for multiple words and phrases.

Trending Topics

December 18, 2008       Share:    

Source: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/12/17/playing_power_politics_with_iran/

Playing Power Politics with Iran

[Boston Globe] Ray Takeyh - Western politicians hope that reduced oil prices will compel Iran to come to terms with the international community on its nuclear infractions. Such perceptions misread Iran's history and the mindset of Tehran's current rulers. The West confronts an Iranian regime that has reconceptualized its national interests - choosing strategic gain over economic growth. Neither economic distress nor additional sanctions are likely to alter Tehran's course. Several U.S. administrations have tried, and failed, to achieve Iran's strategic acquiescence by exploiting its economic vulnerabilities. It is time to approach the Iranian conundrum from a power-politics perspective. The Islamic Republic can be offered an opportunity to emerge as a leading regional state so long as it tempers its nuclear ambitions and restrains its destructive regional policies. An Iran that continues to violate its international obligations faces the prospect of isolation and conflict. The writer is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

View the full edition of Daily Alert

Back to Archive

Subscribe to Daily Alert: