"We must keep our eyes on the future. Iran should abide by the commitments it has accepted as per the recent agreement. [Iranian officials] should not be dismayed by political positions taken and remarks made by certain officials of other countries even if they are against the very spirit of the agreement. Every political official in any country is faced with their own limitations. Therefore, saving the face of the opposite parties should be considered as part of the Iranians' hospitality tradition. It takes long and serious negotiations before the relations between Iran and the United States can be normalized."

"The irony of the decision to strip the MKO of its terrorist designation should be apparent when one considers the fact that since 1875, only a small number of Americans have been killed in Iran and of those, all but one were assassinated by the same MKO....No American has been killed in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution."

"...[S]hould the negotiations fail, a war with Iran would be catastrophic. The United States has not only been down that road with Iraq, but now is a fragile moment in many Arab countries, in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well, where a war against Iran could produce enormous repercussions — boosting the prospects of the most militant factions — which last for a generation or more. A war would also spike oil prices to all-time highs and demolish hopes for economic recovery here, Europe, Japan, and indeed everywhere else."

Observers would be forgiven for dismissing negotiations over Iran's nuclear program as Kabuki theater. Despite years of on-again, off-again efforts, after all, fears of war continue to simmer. Such frustrations are understandable -- but they may not be entirely justified.

"There are Stars of David publicly displayed in Tehran of course, for instance on the walls and signs of the Beheshtieh Jewish cemetery where dozens of holocaust victims are buried.  In Tehran today there are 18 synagogues, several kosher butchers, Jewish schools and a Jewish hospital. Comparable conditions exist in other cities with a sizeable Jewish community. The situation for all minorities in Iran is far from perfect, but the Islamic Republic guarantees the political representation of the Jewish community in the Iranian parliament, a political right that is codified in the Iranian constitution."

"An ambitious reinvigoration of the grand bargain that was struck 40 years ago in the NPT is needed to usher in a new era of cooperation on preventing proliferation. The renewed grand bargain will need to combine steps that can be taken immediately alongside a vision for the longer term. It will also need to draw in states that are not parties to the NPT. Rather than rushing toward confrontation, with all its risks, all sides must put historic antipathies aside and find face-saving solutions. To give the Iranian advocates of compromise a chance to succeed, the United States and the other major powers need to put offers on the table that will show the people of Iran that nuclear restraint and compliance will put their nation on a path toward peace and prosperity."

"Regime sustainability despite different internal crises and foreign threats underlines the fact that Iran enjoys a relatively rational decision-making process. The central slogan of the Iranian Revolution was "Independence, Freedom, and Islamic Republic." Today, Iran is an independent state, as it does not belong to an Eastern or a Western bloc. Although the country has not realized its ambition of economic independence, the revolution has provided economic welfare. Rural development has improved people's lives by providing villages with water, electricity, and infrastructure. The essence of independence also
referred to the specific relations between the Iranian monarchy and the United States. The US-sponsored 1953 coup against the popular Muhammad Mosaddeq government made Iran an American client state, leading to Iranian dependence in all aspects."