Obama Iran Strategy

quoted from Haaretz
Obama set a rough timetable for his diplomatic outreach to Iran for the first time on Monday. "The important thing is to make sure there is a clear timetable," he said. "By the end of the year we should have some sense whether or not these discussions [involving Iran] are starting to yield significant benefits." Obama also said he was not closing off a "range of steps" against Iran, including sanctions, if it continues its nuclear program, which Washington believes is aimed at producing an atomic weapon but Tehran says is for peaceful purposes.

He also held out the prospect of tougher sanctions against Tehran "to ensure that Iran understands we are serious." Obama stressed that attempts by the Bush administration to isolate Iran had failed, "so what we are going to try to do is do something different." He said he hoped to begin negotiations with Tehran soon, after Iran holds elections next month. Iran's leaders have so far rebuffed his efforts to reach out to them and toughened their rhetoric.