A Win-Win U.S. Strategy for Dealing with Iran

A Win-Win U.S. Strategy for Dealing with Iran

Iran is trying to get nuclear weapons as fast as they can while Russia and China have their back for various reasons. Military action by us would be difficult and probably alienate our allies both in and outside of Iran. So here is an alternate strategy from some folks at the Hoover Institution at Stanford.

We need a new approach. It is time for the United States to get smart in dealing with Iran and frame its own win-win proposition, which we propose here: a sophisticated two-track policy that deals boldly and directly with the regime as well as the Iranian people on all issues in the bilateral relationship. By expanding the agenda to include not only the control of nuclear technologies but also Tehran’s support for terrorism, the lifting of sanctions, democracy and human rights, and even diplomatic relations, U.S. policymakers could radically change the very limited parameters of the stalemated debate with Iran in a way that would serve arms control and democratization.

Our own Marc Schulman has a review of this same proposal at
A Promising Proposal for a “Grand Bargain� with Iran.

It seems to me that most of the US leaders on deck are increasingly embracing active engagement with difficult adversaries. What kinds of proposals might they consider?