U.S. diplomats study how to preserve Iran's dignity in nuclear talks

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http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iran-talks-20140217,0,7214770.story



Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the crowd in Tehran last week during a ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

U.S. diplomats study how to preserve Iran's dignity in nuclear talks
By Paul Richter
February 17, 2014, 6:00 a.m.

JAKARTA, Indonesia — U.S. diplomats preparing for a new round of nuclear negotiations with Iran this week are pondering an important question: How can they make the Iranians feel like the winners?

The U.S. team and diplomats from five other nations sit down with Iran on Tuesday in Vienna to begin bargaining on what could be a historic agreement to prevent the Islamic Republic from gaining a bomb-making capability. An atmosphere of high anticipation surrounds the talks, which are expected to continue for six months to a year, and possibly longer.

But U.S. diplomats know that the deal will work only if ordinary Iranians believe it preserves the country's dignity as it manacles their treasured nuclear program. They have been trying to shape a deal that will look like a victory for both sides.

President Obama has publicly acknowledged the importance of Iranian self-respect in the deal-making, saying any accord must provide a "dignified path for Iran to forge a new beginning with the wider world."