Sooner rather than later, Iran and the United States will engage with each other. The main obstacle to a final deal is no longer its terms, but the path to reaching such an accord. Mr. Rowhani and Mr. Obama must stick to pragmatism and fend off extremism. They must combine prudence with courage and take reciprocal, rationally sequenced steps, and then follow through with hard sells at home. And most of all, they must avoid embracing the misperceptions of strength and weakness that have brought us to the brink. After decades of fruitless confrontation, both the United States and Iran need cooperation.
“How to End the Stalemate With Iran,” Hossein Mousavian & Mohammad Ali Shabani, The New York Times, June 18, 2013.
