Diagnosis - Analysis of Opportunities and Obstacles .
The Iranian nuclear program is one of the new century's main foreign policy challenges to the United States. An Iranian nuclear weapons capability could further destabilize an already risky security situation in a key region of the world. It could also significantly distort the existing military balance between an adversarial Iran and the United States and its regional allies. This could have a significantly negative impact the for U.S. and unrestricted access to the region's energy resources, a significant prerequisite for economic growth and stability in a world only just recovering from a major financial crisis. It could also put U.S. interests and military forces at risk in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the Middle East. Finally, it could trigger a regional nuclear arms race, prompting Israel to declare its nuclear weaponry, or even risk nuclear conflict (Einhorn, 2014).
This strategy paper seeks to provide an honest and objective analysis and recommendation of U.S. negotiation strategy options, their potential costs and benefits, and the most appropriate measures to achieve realistic goals for a nuclear deal with Iran. The strategic advice will only focus on the US as a negotiating party since after careful analysis and research, the US has proved to be predominantly the largest and most involved party in the negotiations rounds with Iran since these began. Our approach embraces a long-term strategic view of the Iranian nuclear crisis, and seeks to identify promising U.S. strategic choices and negotiating propositions that can maximize security and promote U.S. regional and global interests while avoiding unnecessary costs and risks. Ultimately, it is our objective for the US to reach an overall peaceful agreement with Iran.
Other Players and Interests .
In order to provide strategic advice for the next negotiation talks with Iran, the nuclear issue is placed into a broader context by considering external factors that the U.