WHERE DOES THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR DEBATE GO FROM HERE?
When Iran agreed to negotiate with Europe over its nuclear activities, much of the international community breathed a sigh of relief. The negotiations — which opened on Monday (Dec 20) — focus on an offer by Britain, Germany and France to give Iran trade advantages and technical assistance in exchange for Tehran indefinitely — that is, permanently — giving up its uranium enrichment activities. While a final deal has yet to be worked out, the three European Union nations view their initiative as already partly successful because Tehran has agreed to temporarily suspend uranium enrichment while the negotiators meet. That has defused — for now — U.S. and European worries that Iran was progressing with its efforts to master uranium enrichment while the world only discussed what to do. In Part 3 of a four-part series on the crisis over Iran’s nuclear program, RFE/RL looks at where the debate goes from here. Even as the diplomatic initiative by the three European Union nations proceeds
