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Iran's Nuclear Diversion

[Washington Post] Ray Takeyh - Amid their merciless efforts to systematically eviscerate the democratic opposition and consolidate power, President Ahmadinejad and his allies see discussion of the nuclear program as a means to silence the criticism that their domestic behavior merits. In the coming months, Iran will no doubt seek to prolong negotiations by accepting and then rejecting agreed-upon compacts and offering countless counterproposals. Tehran will sporadically offer to discuss the nuclear issue to whet the appetite of Western powers - before moving against its remaining domestic detractors. The Iran problem is not limited to illicit nuclear activities, and it is somewhat incomprehensible that the U.S. can contemplate nuclear transactions with a regime that maintains links to a range of terrorist organizations and engages in brutal domestic repression. Western officials would be smart to disabuse Iran of the notion that its nuclear infractions are the only source of disagreement. Iran's hard-liners need to know that should they launch their much-advertised crackdown, the price for such conduct may be termination of any dialogue with the West. Only through such a policy can the U.S. advance its strategic objectives while standing up for its moral values. The writer is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
2009-11-06 06:00:00
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