Negotiations Begin on Iran Nuclear Program
BLITZER: Talks are resuming in New York on Iran's nuclear programs. Negotiators from the United States, Iran, five other nations are working on what has been an elusive agreement on Iran's nuclear future. Joining us to talk about what's at stake, Mark Dubowitz, executive director for the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, spent a lot of time studying this issue. What do you think, mark, the deadline for the agreement is late November. Originally been earlier, but was extended. Is there any reason to believe this deal will get done?</s>MARK DUBOWITZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY: Well, Wolf, the U.S. government is working long and hard to figure out if it can accommodate Iran's supreme leaders' red lines. The question before us is not whether they're going to work hard but are they sufficiently going to cave to the supreme leader to accommodate those very red lines. If they're willing to do so, there will be a deal. If not, they'll stand tough and get another extension.</s>BLITZER: Do you have confidence the U.S., the five other members who are non-permanent members, permanent and nonpermanent members, involved in this negotiation, that they will get the deal that you would like?</s>DUBOWITZ: Wolf, I'm not confident. There has been a systemic erosion of the U.S. negotiating position over the past year. I think we have done a lot to try to accommodate Iran's supreme leader. He has just responded with one simple word, "No." And we continue to try to find technical compromises to try to find this elusive agreement. But he knows we want the deal more than he does.</s>BLITZER: What is the major sticking point from your perspective?</s>DUBOWITZ: Well, the major sticking point that's been publicly announced is the question of enrichment capacity and really the number of centrifuges that we're willing to allow the Iranians to have for a short duration of time. The major sticking point, fundamentally, is that this is a regime that's committed to having a nuclear weapon. We know that. But we are in the sort of elaborate Kabuki dance to try to pretend we can actually find a deal that will sufficiently constrain their nuclear ambitions.</s>BLITZER: As you know, the U.S. and Iran, right now, they have one thing very much in common. They both hate ISIS and they both are trying to destroy ISIS in different ways. How does that potential collaboration or cooperation in this war against ISIS factor into the nuclear negotiations?</s>DUBOWITZ: Wolf, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, are really two sides of the same jihadist core. And Iran really benefits from the rise of extremism in the Middle East. I think any kind of collaboration with Iran is going to only undermine our negotiating position. The Iranians fully understand any cooperation from them will come at a cost. They will take their pound of flesh at the negotiation table and it will only seriously erode our negotiating position which already is tenuous.</s>BLITZER: But they have gone after ISIS on several fronts. They have a lot of influence in Iraq, including Iranian Republican Guard military personnel. They are trying to beat ISIS right now, right?</s>DUBOWITZ: Well, they are for their own reasons. If that's the case, let them. There's no reason we should be collaborating and cooperating. We're communicating and maybe de-conflicting and that's important to a military operational perspective. But there's no reason to collaborate. They've been partially responsible for the rise of the Islamic State. It should not come at a cost at the negotiating the prize, which is a good agreement that constrains Iran's nuclear weapons capability.</s>BLITZER: Do you accept the general assessment that the new president is better than Ahmadinejad, his predecessor?</s>DUBOWITZ: He's better with respect to his desire for maybe a more moderate approach internally within Iran. But he is very much to the same objective that the supreme leader is committed to, the Revolutionary Guards are committed to, and that's a nuclear weapon. I think there is unity amongst Iran's elite on the question of that question. There may be disunity on the issue of tactics and exactly how to get there. But I think this is a man who is a pragmatist but who is also deeply committed to a nuclear weapon and what that would mean for Iran and its regional influence.</s>BLITZER: Mark Dubowitz, with the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, thanks for joining us.</s>DUBOWITZ: Thank you.</s>BLITZER: We'll watch these critical negotiations in the days to come. And the deadline ended in November. Just a note, I'll be anchoring our coverage at the United Nations starting on Monday as heads of state come to New York to address the General Assembly. The president will address the General Assembly on Wednesday. We'll have full coverage on CNN throughout the week. Still ahead, is President Obama being tough enough when it comes to ISIS? We'll get the results of a brand new poll. Our political panel standing by to sort out the results.