As the Iranians celebrate the 33rd anniversary of their glorious 444 days of storming and seizing our embassy and staff in Tehran with burning American flags and chants of "death to America," their rulers attempt a little nuance by reaching out to America before our election with a gesture of nuclear compromise (tip to Instapundit):
Iran has suspended the enrichment of uranium stockpiles to the 20% purity needed to bring it a short step from building a nuclear device, news services in the region have reported.
Mohammad Hossein Asfari, a member of parliament responsible for foreign policy and national security, was quoted as saying that the move was a “goodwill” gesture, aimed at softening Iran’s position before a new round of scheduled talks with the United States after this week’s presidential elections.
I worried that the administration would attempt some sort of faux "breakthrough" deal that would withstand scrutiny until after our election. We shall see how the administration responds.
But who can blame Iran? Today they are closer to nukes under this administration. Sanctions may be hurting Iran but is Iran close enough to pass the nuclear threshold before they bite the leadership?
It seems like only a few years ago that the Obama administration was issuing deadlines to the mullahs when their outreach--symbolized by the abandonment of the Iranian Green Revolution--but then letting them slide without doing anything at all. Those were glorious days, too, from Iran's point of view.
Well, it isn't fair to say he didn't do anything at all. Three years later we've dragged Europe along for tighter sanctions (with plenty of exemptions for friends and allies). If it took years for this, how many more years might Iran think they'd get before the Obama administration takes the step to begin to think about military actions to stop Iran?
If the administration hasn't learned to love the Iranian bomb and believe deterrence is the best option.
And how many years will it be until Iran has nuclear weapons and can use that power to start weakening sanctions?
Iran can be forgiven if they believe that their glory days lie ahead of them and that President Obama is key to achieving them.
