The Return Of Diplomacy

On Friday, the Obama Administration announced plans for multi-party talks with Iran, to take place starting on October 1st. No location for the meetings were announced, but Washington and the "E3+3" countries will no doubt want to discuss Iran's nuclear program.
Iran has offered the talks in response to the threat of sanctions amid accusations that they are enriching uranium for a nuclear weapon. The talks will include European countries the UK, France, and Germany (the E3) and the US, Russia, and China (the +3). Iran has promised "comprehensive, all-encompassing, and constructive negotiations." They have already stated that "nuclear energy is for everyone, but atomic bombs are for no one." That makes it pretty clear that they have no intent to stop enriching uranium, but wish to discuss a framework for "clean nuclear energy." Other issues that Iran is apparently willing to discuss are regional security and trade.
Talks with Iran were a major campaign promise from Obama, one that he took some considerable heat for from the right. Obviously "regional security" and energy issues tie directly into the atomic bomb issue, and the "party of six" will make this point. Iran is right to say that nuclear energy is the right of every nation, but only with transparency. Transparency is at the core of the International Atomic Energy Agency policies. The problem comes that Iran's neighbors have not always cooperated the way they should. It is basically accepted fact that Israel has atomic weapons, and Ahmedinejad has called Israel a "stinking corpse." It is only fair to ask all nations in the region to play by the same rules. If Iran can open up it's program to international inspectors, and Israel can come clean about the threat that is poses to it's Arab neighbors, then maybe Iran and the West can come closer to solving other security problems in the region together. After all, the United States is engaged in two wars on Iran's borders, and cooperation from a major Arab country could give that effort renewed credibility.