'Tempatures have coooled'
Photo: AP
Dennis Ross
Photo: Alex Kolomoisky
'Chances of Iran war decreasing'
US officials, experts tell New York Times chances of conflict with Islamic Republic over nuclear program have lessened significantly thanks to sanctions, negotiations
International sanctions
are doing their job, Tehran is showing flexibility and the chances of war with Iran
are receding. That is how experts and officials within the Obama administration have assessed the situation in an interview they gave to the New York Times.
The feature published in Monday's edition claims that after "a winter of alarm" over the possibility of an imminent military conflict with Iran – vis-à-vis its nuclear program, the chances of war with the Islamic Republic in the foreseeable future have lessened significantly.
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The officials and the experts cite a series of factors that, for now, argue against a conflict.
Turning point - talks in Istanbul (Photo: MCT)
They claim that the threat of tighter economic sanctions has prompted the Iranians to try more flexible tactics in their dealings with the United States and other powers, while the revival of direct negotiations has tempered the most inflammatory talk on all sides.
"I do think the temperature has cooled," an Obama administration official noted.
Yet none of the officials or experts interviewed in the feature discounted the possibility that the current optimism could fade.
"While there isn’t an agreement between the US and Israel on how much time, there is an agreement that there is some time to give diplomacy a chance," said Dennis Ross, who previously handled Iran policy for the Obama administration.
According to the officials, the turning point occurred at the talks two weeks ago in Istanbul between Iran and the United States and other world powers.
The officials believe that the looming threat of tighter economic sanctions to take effect on July 1 convinced the Iranians to take the negotiations more seriously, and that in turn has reduced the threat of war.
"There is a combination of factors coming on line, including the talks and the sanctions, and so now I think people realize it has to be given time to play out," one administration official said.
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