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Dennis Ross: Breakthroughs with Iran in Baghdad "Unrealistic"

(Foreign Policy) Josh Rogin - Don't expect any breakthroughs with Tehran at the six-power nuclear talks in Baghdad, the Obama administration's former top official for Iran Dennis Ross said Tuesday. "The idea that you have a breakthrough after only two rounds, I think, given everything going on, is just not realistic." In order for real progress to be made, he said, the talks have to continue on a regular, predictable schedule. "There needs to be an indication that the talks really do have a kind of intensive ongoing character and they're meeting on almost what I would describe as nearly a continuous basis." "The key here is you want to send a signal that we're serious, but we're not desperate for an agreement...we're not pushing prematurely to try to produce an outcome before you've had a chance to have the kind of discussions that are credible enough to determine whether such an outcome is possible....The current approach of the P5+1 in the talks is guided by a confidence-building, step-by-step logic that could work over time but runs the risk of letting Tehran play for time without revealing whether a real deal is even possible." In Congress, there is bipartisan opposition to any interim agreement with the Iranians that includes the kinds of confidence-building measures Ross is proposing. A Feb. 17 letter signed by Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jim Risch (R-ID), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), John McCain (R-AZ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said: "We would strongly oppose any proposal that caps or limits sanctions against the Iranian regime in exchange for anything less than full, verifiable, and sustained suspension of all enrichment activities, including both 3% and 20% enrichment....The time for confidence building measures is over."
2012-05-24 00:00:00
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