It's 'a marathon, not a sprint!'

Via FLC

 

Reza Marashi, the Research Director at the National Iranian American Council and a former desk officer at the State Department, has offered his reflections on the negotiations with Iran. He provides a balanced and sober assessment of the state of play — both sides have come in with maximalist positions and are not budging — and the risks that such bargaining entails.

His conclusion is worth repeating:

'As both sides escalate for leverage, the reality is that neither side has gained an upper hand. Increased international pressure sharpens Iran’s choices, but there are divisions inside the Obama administration on whether sanctions alone will cause the Islamic Republic to capitulate. The status quo is not sustainable, and neither the United States nor Iran has time on its side. In this high-stakes game of chicken, policy makers in Tehran and Washington can no longer gloss over the conflict with short-term tactics. Both sides are nearing a critical point at which delaying the inevitable choice between military action and compromise is no longer tenable.

 

An institutionalized enmity that has taken over three decades to build will not be undone over the course of a few meetings. Success will only come if diplomats place a premium on patience and long-term progress rather than quick fixes aimed at appeasing domestic political constituencies. Diplomacy is hard, but the taboo of sustained U.S.-Iran dialogue has been broken—and that is diplomacy’s great promise: one can never predict where discussions will lead once they have started. With that in mind, as policy makers prepare for talks in Moscow, they should remember that nuclear talks with Iran are a marathon, not a sprint.'

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