On Oct. 1, the United States and other great powers will restart talks with Iran, a new round in a long and so far fruitless effort to stop Tehran's march toward nuclear weapons. This may be the most important diplomacy President Obama has attempted -- a test of his policy of "engagement" with adversaries, with war and peace in the balance.
The negotiators have been here before. In earlier rounds, the Iranians made vague statements about world peace, said they needed more time to consider U.N. Security Council demands that they stop enriching uranium and then, after several months, quit returning the West's phone calls. (Literally. According to one diplomat, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana placed call after call to Tehran and got no answer.)
This time, though, the Obama administration and its allies say they're determined to prevent a repeat performance. "We are not willing to be played," said a top U.S. official involved in the talks but not authorized to speak publicly.
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