President Barack Obama’s year of outreach to Iran has succeeded in putting it on the diplomatic defensive: that much was clear from Friday’s blunt reproach of Tehran by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board. But it’s less clear that Obama can convert that diplomatic advantage into sanctions that will curtail Iran’s nuclear program. “The question is,” says one senior Democratic aide in Congress, “Can Obama pivot [from engagement to sanctions] and succeed in changing conditions on the ground?” Iran is betting he can’t. On Sunday, two days after the IAEA rebuke, Tehran approved plans to build 10 new enrichment plants, ordering that work begin immediately on the first five.
