US Looks to Renew Iran Talks After the November Elections
The United States is looking to renew multilateral talks with Iran about its nuclear program after the November elections, Barbara Slavin reports, but the window of opportunity is likely to be brief no matter who wins the White House.
The US is looking to resume negotiations with Iran after US presidential elections, according to people familiar with the planning, but the window for new talks is likely to be short no matter who wins.
If Barack Obama is re-elected Nov. 6, his administration will have only about five months until Iran becomes embroiled in its own presidential contest next spring. If Mitt Romney wins, the Obama team will have an even shorter period and both Iran and the US may feel constrained about signing a deal that might be repudiated by the next US president.
Romney would likely need some time to review Iran policy and might not pick up where Obama left off — much as George W. Bush repudiated Bill Clinton’s negotiating strategy with North Korea in 2000.
Separately, a senior European official said last week that the purpose of the sanctions was “to bring the Iranian economy to its knees in a way that hurts the regime more than the people” — a goal that he admitted would be “very difficult to achieve.”
