Supporters of Deal Are Strengthening Iran's Negotiating Position

by Alan M. Dershowitz • March 10, 2015 at 10:15 am

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during nuclear talks in Vienna, Austria, July 14, 2014. (Image source: U.S. State Department)

Despite repeating the mantra that "no deal is better than a bad deal" with Iran, the United States seems to be negotiating on the basis of a belief that the worst possible outcome of the current negotiations is no deal. Many supporters of the deal that is now apparently on the table are arguing that there is no realistic alternative to this deal. That sort of thinking out loud empowers the Iranian negotiators to demand more and compromise less, because they believe -- and have been told by American supporters of the deal -- that the United States has no alternative but to agree to a deal that is acceptable to the Iranians.