Talk Is Cheap. Make Iran Come Clean
A diplomatic opening is possible, but Iran must prove its nuclear program is innocuous
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The last time the leaders of Iran and the U.S. met was 36 years ago—during the reign of Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi. He’d been installed in a U.S.-backed coup against a democratically elected leader, only to be overthrown in 1979 by Islamic revolutionaries who held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
There’s a lot of history here—the kind that makes opening a new chapter of less hostile relations difficult, despite recent overtures from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Over the years, what each country wants from the other hasn’t much changed. The Iranians want to be treated with respect, and the Americans want Iran to behave respectably, especially when it comes to Iran’s nuclear program.