The White House has called the first round of talks between US and Iranian officials in Oman “very positive and constructive.”
That is good news — if, and only if, the goal of those discussions is to end, and not merely postpone, Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
To be truly constructive, the negotiations must aim at preventing Iran from ever again fomenting war in the Middle East and exporting terror globally.
The objective must be to build on Israel’s military victory over Iran and forge a new era of regional peace and long-term security for the United States.
The previous nuclear deal — the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action — merely delayed Iran’s production of the highly enriched uranium needed to produce atomic bombs.
It failed to dismantle a single enrichment facility, to contain Iran’s development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and to address its covert work on an atomic warhead.
The fact that Iran has enriched enough uranium to make five nuclear weapons in one week demonstrates the utter ineffectiveness of the JCPOA.
In addition to allowing Iran to remain a threshold nuclear power, the JCPOA gave Iran many billions of dollars in sanctions relief and business contracts.
Much of those proceeds went to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
The devastating war launched by those proxies in October 2023 was in large part funded by the JCPOA.
Israel nevertheless prevailed over Iran, destroying its air defenses and neutralizing its regional allies.
Iranian power is today a shadow of what it was before October 2023.
Israel could today strike Iranian nuclear plants with near impunity.
Little wonder, then, that Iran has welcomed talks with Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff — and it will hardly be surprising when Tehran tries to draw out the discussions long enough to restore its Russian ground-to-air batteries.
The mullahs could also seek to stall negotiations until October, when the JCPOA’s provision for snapback UN sanctions on Iran expires.
Ultimately, though, what Iran desperately needs is another nuclear deal.
Such an agreement, even if marginally more restrictive than the JCPOA, would enable Iran to rebuild its defensive capabilities and restore its proxies to their pre-war strengths, surrounding Israel once more with terrorist armies and tens of thousands of rockets.
No one should expect Israel to sit passively and wait to once more be attacked.
While setting the stage for the next war, a renewed JCPOA-type treaty would frustrate further efforts for peace.
Rather than reconciling with a weakened Israel, Saudi Arabia would seek stronger ties with a resurgent Tehran.
And instead of a revived Pax Americana in the Middle East, the region would fall to Iran’s superpower patrons, Russia and China.
Eastern Europe and Taiwan could be next.
So disastrous a scenario could be averted by military action: A single night of sorties by America’s strategic bombers, each dropping multiple bunker-penetrating payloads, would totally destroy all of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
With its Russian-made anti-aircraft batteries in ruins and lacking modern fighter jets, Iran would be powerless to respond.
Contrary to the warnings sometimes heard in Washington, Iran has zero ability to make war on the United States.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons, if necessary by military means.
He has moved two US aircraft carrier fighter groups and squadrons of strategic assets into the Arabian Sea, signaling the Iranians in no uncertain terms that America means business.
Yet Trump, who takes pride in ending conflicts, wants to exhaust all diplomatic options.
From an American perspective, his position makes perfect sense: Give the Iranians a serious opportunity to negotiate in good faith.
But to be successful, the goals of those talks must be clear.
Iran’s enrichment facilities and its arsenal of ICBMs must be verifiably dismantled. Iran’s role as the leading source of Middle East bloodshed and as the world’s state sponsor of terrorism must end.
Throughout, strict time limits must be placed on the talks; the Iranians cannot be allowed to foot-drag.
A credible military option — American and Israeli — must always remain on the table.
Iran can “flourish,” as Trump envisions, and become “a wonderful and great and happy country,” but only if it no longer threatens its neighbors.
Iran can thrive, but not at the expense of American — and global — security.
Michael Oren, formerly Israel’s ambassador to the United States, is the founder of the Israel Advocacy Group and author of the Clarity Substack.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
