6 factors that will determine concessions from Iran

Can war with Iran can be avoided? In recent talks with the West in Baghdad, Iran showed some greater flexibility about its nuclear program. But Iran has a history of trickery in the nuclear arena. Whether Tehran will cooperates with Western demands depends on the following six factors.

6. Don’t forget the carrots

At negotiations in Baghdad, Iran sought to force concessions from the West on sanctions in exchange for its tentative agreement to allow UN inspectors to restart probes into an Iranian military base that is suspected of being used for nuclear arms-related tests. Iran will be more likely to cooperate on this and other matters if the West makes clearer what the rewards would be for doing so.

Let’s not forget the carrots. At present, they include a promise to ease some sanctions – if Iran cooperates much more and verifiably.

Steve Yetiv is a professor of political science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. He is the author of “The Petroleum Triangle” and “The Absence of Grand Strategy.”

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