Obama's Perilous Iran Calendar

The Obama administration’s national security team must walk a very delicate tightrope on Iran policy in the weeks to come. On the one hand, it must convince doubters in Iran, Israel and the U.S. Congress that the administration is prepared to use force if necessary to stop Iran from mastering the technologies needed to construct nuclear weapons. If the different factions within the Islamic Republic are not convinced that President Barack Obama is prepared to pull the proverbial trigger, they have no incentive to return to the negotiating table. And if the U.S. commitment to accept the use of force as an option is suspect in Israel, it may strengthen those within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government who argue that Israel should go ahead with a unilateral strike. And finally, if Congress doubts the president’s resolve, it might force the president’s hand until he has no choice but to undertake a strike, a temptation that has been growing on Capitol Hill in recent months.