August 13, 2014 | Quote
Khamenei Says No Dice On A Nuclear Deal
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This suggests that for all the nice words from the “moderate” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the regime is fundamentally unwilling to give up its nuclear capabilities — and feels no particular pressure to do so. Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies tells me, “[Khamenei] loathes America and doesn’t appear to share Rouhani’s fondness for using diplomacy to divide Europe and the United States. In his view, bowing to Westerners is a sin. The same is true for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, who aren’t clever but are powerful.” Dubowitz acknowledges that this may be blustering, but it is also very possible that “Khamenei believes that continued intransigence involves no cost and that he has no interest in any kind of compromise. The White House’s palpable fear of conventional conflict, which Khamenei regularly mocks, and the West’s track record of giving ground in talks and eroding its negotiating position by de-escalating the economic pressure, probably proves in Khamenei’s eyes the strategic wisdom of his nuclear aspirations.”
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