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The United States holds a strong bargaining position going into nuclear talks with Iran. An Israeli military attack seems imminent. U.S.- and European Union-led sanctions on Iran's Central Bank and oil exports are wreaking havoc on the Iranian economy. And yet, despite these massive pressures on the Iranian regime, it is not Tehran but the United States that is signaling that it is prepared to make concessions - setting the stage for Washington's unprecedented leverage to be squandered.