Tuesday letters: Don’t abandon Iran negotiations

It is said that history repeats itself, and it would appear that this age-old adage is true. For many years now, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran is “on the verge” of producing a nuclear weapon. And still, this has not come to fruition; Netanyahu’s speech earlier this month practically echoed one he made almost 20 years ago.

Prime Minister Netanyahu calls now for the United States to abandon diplomatic negotiations with Iran and instead demand a wholesale dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program. Historically, sanctions have not been effective in stalling Iran’s nuclear program — so it is clear that abandoning diplomacy and increasing sanctions is not an effective way of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran

As a Global Zero Action Corps leader, I know the consequences of abandoning negotiations are severe; the United States would no doubt be thrust into yet another war, and the threat of nuclear proliferation would loom over the region like a powder keg. In the interest of preserving diplomacy, I am asking Congress to support diplomatic negotiations with Iran.

Lexington

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Tuesday letters: Don’t abandon Iran negotiations."