Ever since the European Union?s Big Three ? Germany, France and the UK ? launched their attempt to find a diplomatic way to dissuade Iran from going it alone on uranium enrichment, one vital piece of the jigsaw puzzle has been missing: willingness by Washington to engage directly with Tehran.

However much the EU3 might promise, they were never able to produce serious sticks as well as carrots. Only America could do that. Even more importantly, only the US government could respond to the security concerns of the Iranian regime. Without a representative of President George W. Bush at the table, the European talks were condemned to failure.