The lack of sustained engagement with Iran over the last 25 years is harming U.S. interests at a time when America is engaged to an unprecedented extent in the Middle East and Central Asia, according to a panel of experts and former U.S. officials. In a report published on Monday by the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank, the panel warned that “overcoming the absence of any U.S.-Iranian contacts may be the only alternative to … force” to assuage U.S. concerns about Iran’s behavior. It recommended that Washington change its approach to a “selective” engagement with Iran that includes incentives, like the prospect of U.S. commercial ties, as well as penalties, in an effort to resolve a growing nuclear problem and stabilize the Middle East.Full Story