Tytti ErästöMarch 6, 2013 07:33

With Iran posed to be a regional player, US should find ways to repair relations

Commentary: Size and oil wealth means Western sanctions over nuclear issue are unsustainable.

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The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, speaks during a press conference at the consulate of Iran in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sept. 19, 2012. The P5+1 group made up of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany joined diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program in 2006, but efforts to broker a treaty have proven fruitless to date. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The ongoing deadlock in the Iranian nuclear dispute is becoming increasingly unsustainable. While Iran’s economy is seriously harmed by Western sanctions, the Obama administration has created high expectations by portraying the coming year as the final test for diplomacy. Pressure to reach a successful nuclear deal thus seems to be high on both sides. The question is whether such a deal is understood to mean compromise or Iran’s capitulation.