Two Countries Need to Be Put on the Spot

“With hard-liners riding high in Tehran, there’s little chance of changing minds there. But the White House should still try, offering security guarantees in exchange for Iran’s giving up technology that could feed a nuclear weapons program.”
NYT Editorial, “Still Spinning,” 8/14/06
Well, will the White House “still try, offering security guarantees”? Is the White housing willing to try that, i.e., willing to give up its “regime change” program, or is the dream of overthrowing the Iranian government so important that they would rather watch the nuclear enrichment grow than give it up.
And what about Iran? Would they give up on the nuclear enrichment program in exchange for normal relations and security, or is the program too important for them to give it up?
Their public message at least suggests they are prepared to make that trade. Ali Larijani, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, was asked, “What kind of ambiguities are you referring to [in the current six-power proposal]”
His answer: “For instance…we want to find out what they mean by long-term cooperation. Does long-term cooperation mean a relationship in all fields with Iran or only in nuclear activities? Depending on the answer, our interpretation of the package will be different. For instance, one of the provisions of this package mentions talking to Iran about regional security arrangements.”
IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency), New Delhi, “For the US, Iranian nuclear issue is just an excuse, Larijani,” 8/9/06
Is Iran willing? Is the US willing? There are two countries that need to be put on the spot next week, when Iran’s response to the six-power package comes out. So far, we have only been hearing about one of them.
[Note: Also in question will be whether Iran keeps a small number of centrifuges spinning, possibly with no Uranium gas being fed in. The US says none, but it is not a deal-breaker for at least Germany, Russia, and China.]
[High School chemistry joke: The Iranians reject a suspension of the nuclear program, but they may be willing to emulsify it.]