Sincerity, wisdom needed to solve Iran's nuke issue

Iran and world powers need both sincerity and political wisdom to reach an agreement in their prolonged talks over Iran's controversial nuclear program. Iran and P5+1, namely the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China, plus Germany, "remain far apart on substance," after a two-day negotiation ended Saturday in the Kazakh commercial center of Almaty. Luckily, knowing that any breakdown in diplomacy could threaten peace and stability in the Middle East, probably the most politically volatile patch of land on earth, no one at the Almaty talks shut down the diplomatic window on reaching a deal with Tehran. Deep mutual mistrust has been one of the main contributors to the lack of a breakthrough in the eight-year nuclear talks. Iran says its nuclear energy program is entirely peaceful, and that any mechanism to settle its nuclear issue at the talks should take into consideration the recognition of Tehran's right to enrichment activities for civilian use. The Islamic republic believes that the stronger it becomes the more bargaining chips it will have on the negotiation table. Some western powers, suspecting Iran has worked illicitly to make a nuclear bomb, urged it to respond to a revised proposal that asks Tehran to suspend its enrichment of uranium and shut down the underground Fordow enrichment facility in exchange for limited sanction relief. Outside the conference hall, suspicion of Israel, Iran's arch enemy in the Middle East, was further heightened owing to the lack of tangible results. Worrying that a nuclear Iran would jeopardize its security, Israel had threatened air strikes to stop Iran from getting the bomb. It is even at odds with its ally, the United States, over how fast the clock is ticking down on the need for preemptive military action should diplomacy fail. At a time when all can see that the difference over key points could not be narrowed, sincerity is needed to build confidence among the negotiating parties for a first step. World powers should recognize the right of Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to peaceful use of nuclear energy. For its part, Iran should fulfill its duties and obligations to cooperate with concerned parties and international organizations to ease the doubt over its nuclear program. Besides, all parties involved should resort to real political wisdom and make compromise to address the concerns and interests of each side. Any inappropriate handling of the nuclear issue could raise the specter of a larger Middle East conflict. The oil-rich and politically-turbulent Middle East is of great significance to the world, whose peace and stability affects people living in almost every corner of the globe. Solving Iran's nuclear issue by addressing both the symptom and root causes benefits not only the Islamic republic but also world peace and stability.