The Bush administration is considering offering benefits to Iran in exchange for its agreement to relinquish its nuclear ambitions

* The Bush administration is considering offering benefits to Iran in exchange for its agreement to relinquish its nuclear ambitions. This is a tactical maneuver designed both to show good will toward Britain, France, and Germany, which have been trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, and to avoid being blamed by the Europeans for allegedly sabotaging the talks.

The idea is to set the stage for a united front in favor of tougher action if (when) the negotiations fail. It is unlikely that the Iranians will agree to permanently suspend uranium enrichment, the prerequisite for any meaningful deal; and even if they did, they could renege. The administration has little realistic alternative to playing along, since the Europeans will insist on taking this line of diplomacy as far as it can go anyway. Should their attempt fail despite American backing, all the blame will then fall on the Iranians, where it belongs.

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