A new proposal from Iran

Iranian officials presented the outlines of a far-reaching deal on the country’s nuclear program to six world powers this week, but ruled out swapping its stockpiles of enriched uranium for finished fuel roads. Details of the proposal, presented by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during talks in Geneva with China, France, Germany, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S., were not made public. But reports indicated that Iran would agree to halt its process of enriching uranium to 20 percent fissile purity—a short step away from weapons-grade material—and permit “snap” inspections of its nuclear sites as it continues to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tehran’s new proposal had “a level of seriousness and substance that we had not seen before,” while noting that “the history of mistrust is very deep.” Talks will resume early next month.

Hopes are running high, said Michael Adler in the TheDailyBeast.com, especially over indications that Iran might suspend its production of 20 percent medium-enriched uranium. Yet we can’t forget that in recent years the Iranians have created some disturbing “facts on the ground”—specifically, 19,000 centrifuges, some of which can rapidly convert 3.5 percent enriched uranium to weapons-grade material, making its medium-enriched stockpiles less important. President Obama will have to take that capability into account before accepting any deal with Tehran.

Obama should agree to nothing until Iran gives up enriching uranium entirely, said Reuel Marc Gerecht and Mark Dubowitz in The Washington Post. Even if the country’s allegedly moderate new president, Hassan Rouhani, wanted to make major concessions, there’s no way that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would allow it. He and the rest of the ruling class have staked their leadership on attaining the bomb; abandoning that quest would represent an “extraordinary humiliation.”

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Yet the U.S. is in a strong position, said Amos Yadlin and Avner Golov in The Wall Street Journal. Sanctions have withered Iran’s economy, creating a 40 percent inflation rate and sapping the mullahs’ authority. Obama should use that advantage to gain concessions, such as the dismantling of Iran’s centrifuges. Certainly diplomacy beats Obama’s two current options: “bombing Iran’s nuclear program or accepting Iran with a nuclear weapon.”