With multinational nuclear talks with Iran seemingly stalled, the reflex reaction in Washington is to wait for sanctions to bite even harder and for Iran’s leadership to get past presidential elections in June. However, a prestigious group of former US ambassadors and other senior officials and Iran experts are recommending a bigger commitment to diplomacy and urging President Barack Obama to take personal ownership of the issue.

“It is time for the administration to make the sweat equity investment in negotiations equal to” the effort put into sanctions and the military option, said Thomas Pickering, a veteran former US ambassador. “The president has to make the decision he wants a deal and instruct his people that he wants a deal.”

Pickering is among 35 foreign policy heavyweights who signed a new report, “Strategic Options for Iran: Balancing Pressure with Diplomacy,” released on Wednesday [April 17]. It's the third report by The Iran Project, a non-profit group that seeks to promote US-Iran dialogue, resolve the nuclear crisis peacefully and encourage greater regional cooperation with Iran.

Other signatories include former CIA director Mike Hayden, former State Department policy planning chief Anne Marie Slaughter, former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Luger and veteran former ambassadors Ryan Crocker, William Luers, Jim Dobbins, Richard Murphy and Frank Wisner. In the past, former senator, now defense secretary, Chuck Hagel has signed Iran Project reports, which dealt with the pros and cons of sanctions and the military option.