January 21, 2015 | Quote

President Obama’s State of the Union Reflects ‘Strong’ America


The negotiations, which have passed their deadline for an agreement several times in the last months, have been the symbol of progress in long-suspended relations between Washington and Tehran. The administration has taken to seeing Tehran as the conduit in the fight to stabilize Baghdad. However, some find the notion that negotiations with Iran as a solution, problematic. “It is not true that the only alternative to the current diplomacy is war; it is not true that more sanctions will trigger war.

Sanctions are leverage, which the President has partially renounced in exchange for Iran’s readiness to negotiate, not in exchange for meaningful concessions. The President is thus ensuring that American leverage will continue to diminish over time,” said Dr. Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

“Iran can only interpret the President’s veto threat as a signal that it can endlessly negotiate without fear of negative repercussions. Clearly, if the president thinks that no new sanctions should be passed amidst negotiations, what incentive is there for Tehran to make any concessions, given that Iran will pay no price for its intransigence?” Ottolenghi added.

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Issues:

Iran Iran Sanctions