article_snippet.sent: But the process has unfolded under the destructive influence of political considerations, weakening America's hand and strengthening Iran.
article_snippet.sent: There is a reason one gets the feeling that it is the United States and not Iran that is the more eager, even desperate, side in these talks, even though Iran is the country whose economy was sent into a deep chill by international sanctions; the country whose only significant export, oil, lost more than half of Iran value in recent months.
article_snippet.sent: a credible Plan B. Few believe a credible Plan B. Few, particularly in the Middle East and notably among America's Arab friends, who hold the view that Iran is running circles around the United States and outplayed President Barack Obama.
article_snippet.sent: In fact, the notion that President Barack Obama is not handling the Iranian threat effectively is contributing to a new war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia and other Arabs are trying to push back against gains by Iran's allies.
article_snippet.sent: The political imperative started to intrude in strategic considerations on an issue that is of transcendent importance to world peace.
article_snippet.sent: Obama's March 31 deadline served only to pressure the United States, and the French ambassador very publicly decried as a "bad tactic.
article_snippet.sent: That bad tactic was a political move, a push to produce some sort of result, however vague, to protect the talks from critics.
article_snippet.sent: A couple of weeks ago, with days left until the negotiating deadline, U.N. nuclear chief Yukiya Amano said Iran is still stonewalling.
article_snippet.sent: It is also clear that it took harsh international sanctions and a collapse in oil prices to bring Iran to the negotiating table.
article_snippet.sent: It was Iran that had the most to lose from a failure of talks.
article_snippet.sent: But political considerations turned the United States into the supplicant.