The United States is assembling a “massive armada” near the Islamic Republic of Iran. Negotiations between the two countries are stalemated, and President Donald Trump has warned that “time is running out” for a deal to be reached over Tehran’s nuclear program.

But Iran has long been unwilling to negotiate in good faith. And there’s a simple reason: the regime’s legitimacy is inseparable from its nuclear ambitions. The world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism has sought nuclear weapons for decades. And the costs, both for the regime and the Iranian people, have been exorbitant. 

Indeed, Iran’s nuclear program has led to an estimated $100 to $500 billion in sunken costs, lost oil revenue, and sanctions-related economic damage, according to Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. That is a tremendous commitment to what, by any fair assessment, is a failed policy.

In June 2025, the Trump........

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