The clamor, perhaps growing clamor, that the United States engage Iran directly regarding Iran’s nuclear program might have not have hit its peak, but it has forced the White House to open up to direct talks. People making these statements have seemingly forgotten North Korea and fail to recognize that Iran has already played the talks game with England, Germany and France while they pursued their own nuclear advancement.  The inclusion of the United States into the mix is only destined for failure.
The proposed direct talks though come with a catch, a catch Iran won’t agree to.

The United States is willing to join European nations in direct talks with Iran if the Iranian government first agrees to suspend its programs to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel, activities that Washington charges are part of plans to build nuclear weapons.

Will this quiet the calls for direct talks as opposed to multinational talks over Iran’s nuclear program? We all know it won’t, but the catch for Iran to first suspend uranium enrichment puts the pressure back on Iran.

Let us assume the U.S. is no longer a “silent” partner with the EU Three in talks with Iran.  Five years pass by, or upwards of ten years depending on which estimate you choose to believe, and Iran announces it has a bomb.  Who do you think the international community would blame on Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon?  If you chose France, I have some lakeside property to sell you in Lubbock, TX.

Along that same line though, if the current EU Three are unable to avert Iran’s quest for a bomb without the inclusion of the U.S., the U.S. will be blamed too.  It’s really a no-win situation.

UPDATE: Iran has called the U.S. decision “propoganda.” Funny, isn’t that exactly what the U.S. called Iran’s latest calls for direct talks too?

This statement is propoganda?  Well, no kidding, and that’s taking in the implied meaning of the word propoganda as meaning a war of words rather than the literal definition which is simply imformation.  It is a very wise move in my opinion knowing that in order for these talks to even start, Iran would have to completely suspend enriching uranium.  We all know they won’t.  Iran is a brick wall.
What this statement does is send a strong, stronger actually, message to the world that the United States is not advocating or desiring a war with Iran.  It also helps to shut the mouth of every single person who has started down the direct talk pipeline with respect to Iran.  The calls won’t stop though and will likely only ramp up, but now the White House has something to try to calm the storm with.
Are the negotiations between Iran and the EU Three consisting of England, France and Germany proceding well?  Of course it isn’t, but there isn’t anything the U.S. could offer Iran that would be better than what the EU Three have offered.  Even while the EU Three began negotiations with Iran uranium was being enriches and nuclear technology was being advanced.

The demand made to enter negotiations is what will prevent Iran from complying, thus putting the pressure back on the Iranian regime to justify its own nuclear program as opposed to the misplaced pressure on the United States.  Propoganda, even in the derogatory meaning, can be good.  This was.

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