How to Negotiate with Iran – George P. Shultz (Wall Street Journal)

(Daily Alert)

• With U.S.-led talks to curb Iran’s nuclear program underway in Geneva, American diplomats would do well to take a few pointers from my former boss, Ronald Reagan, on how to negotiate effectively:The reality is that Iran is the world’s most active sponsor of terror, directly and through proxies such as Hizbullah, and it has developed large-scale enrichment capacity that far exceeds anything needed for power-plant operations.
  1. Be realistic; no rose-colored glasses. Recognize opportunities when they are there, but stay close to reality.
  2. Be strong and don’t be afraid to up the ante.
  3. Develop your agenda. Know what you want so you don’t wind up negotiating from the other side’s agenda.
  4. On this basis, engage. And remember: The guy who is anxious for a deal will get his head handed to him.
• Worse, Iran openly expresses its intent to destroy Israel. The election of President Hassan Rouhani may provide a slight opening. But don’t bet on it.
• If Iran has no intention of producing nuclear weapons, then Tehran should cease all uranium enrichment and immediately allow international inspections for verification.
• Do we have a fallback position? Yes. Allow Iran and the IAEA to identify an existing Iranian-enrichment facility that can supply what is needed for purely civilian use. Then make sure that all the other enrichment facilities and the heavy-water reactor in Iran are destroyed under international inspection. Once the job is done, sanctions will be lifted.

  The writer, a former Secretary of Labor, Treasury and State, and Director of the Office of Management and Budget, is a distinguished fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.