See the inspiring stories Come meet us Time to legalize weed?
OPINION
Editorials and Debates

Extending Iran nuke talks worthwhile: Our view

The Editorial Board
USATODAY
European Union and Iranian negotiators on Friday.

In a world rife with intractable conflicts, it's something of an oddity that negotiations to end a uniquely menacing threat have percolated quietly, making progress that just a few months ago seemed far beyond reach.

Now those talks will continue for four more months.

Facing an unattainable Sunday deadline to achieve an agreement to roll back Iran's nuclear weapons program, all parties have agreed to an extension until Nov. 24. In the interim, Iran will continue to allow intrusive inspections and receive minor relief from economic sanctions that are crippling the Iranian economy.

The extension, signaled by both sides in recent days, was expected. But the muted reaction of skeptics, who see total capitulation by Iran as the only option, was telling.

Their alarmist predictions that easing sanctions would be disastrous have proved false, as have their dire warnings that Iran would cheat while negotiations continued. By all accounts, Iran is complying.

In fact, it has gone further, agreeing to alter the design of a key plutonium reactor and proposing to convert much of its bomb-grade uranium to a less dangerous form.

None of this means an agreement will be reached.

The technical obstacles to a credible agreement are daunting. Hard-liners in Iran, Israel and the U.S. Congress still appear intent on scuttling any deal. Members of Congress from both parties have gone as far to say they will vote to tighten sanctions — not loosen them — unless Iran also gives up its missile program and abandons terrorism, neither of which is even a subject of the current negotiations.

Republican Rep. Ed Royce of California, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the extension of the talks and called for ratcheting up the economic pressure on Iran. But moving ahead with new sanctions at this delicate point in the negotiations would undoubtedly derail them.

On the Iranian side. President Hassan Rouhani, whose election led to the surprise Iranian opening, faces powerful domestic opponents bent on holy war with the United States. Iran's supreme leader has sent conflicting signals, first forswearing nuclear weapons, then last week saying Iran must retain a robust enrichment capability, ostensibly for energy generation.

But amid all the maneuvering, one thing should be clear — at least to reasonable observers: Any agreement in which Iran abandons nuclear weapons would be an astounding achievement, one that could lead to a reassessment of the caustic U.S.-Iran relationship. It would avoid a nearly certain nuclear arms race in the Middle East, not to mention an equally likely U.S. war with Iran prompted by an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Success remains against the odds, but so too do the potential rewards remain exceptionally high.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.

Featured Weekly Ad