U.S., Europe Head Back to Negotiating Table With Iran

Leaders from the United States and Europe announced on Tuesday that they will renew negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. The new round of talks was agreed to by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany. This comes more than a year after these countries suspended previous negotiations due to Iran’s defiance.

U.S. President Barack Obama says he remains hopeful that negotiations will be fruitful: “[T]hey [Iranians] understand that the world community means business. To resolve this issue will require Iran to come to the table and discuss in a clear and forthright way, how to prove to the international community that the intentions of their nuclear program are peaceful.”

Yet French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on March 7 that he was “a bit skeptical” that the negotiations with Iran will turn out different this time. Juppe believes that Iran is “continuing to use double-speak” to deceive negotiators.

There is much evidence to back Juppe’s claim. Iran continues to make steady progress in its nuclear program. It remains defiant, even though the West has recently imposed tougher sanctions. And in the past, it has appeared to use negotiations only as a tool to preserve the nuclear program.

This next round of negotiations will be no different. It will prove to be a ploy Iran will use to delay and deceive the Western powers long enough to develop a nuclear ace in the hole. It remains to be seen how much Europe will let Iran push it around, but the Trumpet continues to predict that Iran will eventually be stopped by force. Not by the United States, but by Europe.