I'm not convinced that talks would lead anywhere. (But) in the short to medium term, they would take the pressure out of the system that's driving oil prices. |
The Russians want to stay in very good graces, because there's a big pay day for them. |
The second lesson is that we can't rely on the Europeans. We can only hope on a 50 per cent recovery of that rift. So that leaves us with constructing issue-based coalitions of the willing as the key component of future US foreign policy. |
They know they're sitting on a ton of gas and they're dying to develop it. They can't do it by themselves, and sanctions that prevent them from doing it would hurt Iran. |
You'd be picking a … fight, though. Iran is a sophisticated country, with a very sophisticated leadership. It has a range of retaliatory options that are extremely unpleasant. |