article_snippet: As a result, the chief ayatollah's words seem more intended for defusing the international storm rather than changing domestic policy.
article_snippet: Regime preservation has multiple facets, however.
article_snippet: Regime preservation's not just about keeping citizens fiscally happy.
article_snippet: Nuclear weapons work well in deterring external adversaries.
article_snippet: Diplomacy may, as the Obama administration has stressed repeatedly, indeed be the most efficient and least dangerous way to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
article_snippet: Certainly neither the American nor the European publics want another drawn-out war in the Middle East.