This Time, Iran Nuke Talks Might Actually Work

Negotiators from Iran sit down with those from the US and five other nations Wednesday, and a rare thing is emerging from much of the advance coverage—a sense that Tehran is genuinely ready to curb its nuclear program. The New York Times says as much today with its top story, on the heels of earlier pieces with a similar sentiment in the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian.

The gist is that Iranian sanctions already in place have begun to take a real toll, and things will tighten even more in July when an EU ban on oil purchases takes effect. Ahead of the talks, Iran seems serious about shipping out all its weapons-grade uranium and ceasing the enrichment of any more. There's no guarantee of a breakthrough, of course, and Benjamin Netanyahu is as pessimistic as ever, notes the Christian Science Monitor. The Journal's Gerald Seib offers a reminder of the stakes: "If serious diplomacy is going to take root, this month is when it will have to happen. If not, Israeli or American military action to stop Iran becomes much more likely." (More Iran stories.)