The US is urging the United Nations Security Council to consider tougher action against Iran, based on the April 28 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran has not fully co-operated to disclose its nuclear programme and halt enrichment activity.

The commercial and political interests of other council members, particularly Russia and China, may well prevent decisive Security Council action. And many fear that tougher Security Council action would be a prelude to war.

Allies of the US will support tough action against Iran only if they are confident America is serious about achieving a negotiated, diplomatic solution. The continued unwillingness of the US to engage Iran will make other states hesitate to support, and possibly oppose, these tougher measures.

America’s strategic policy towards Iran must be comprehensive and include a wide-lens view of Iran and the entire Middle East. It is a strategic mistake to believe the US can successfully pursue a policy that segments Iranian and US interests.

Iraq, nuclear capabilities, terrorism, Israel and oil are all part of an Iranian puzzle game that cannot be played one piece at a time. A clear inventory of Middle East realities frames America’s options and policies.

The situation in the Middle East is, by any measure, getting worse and more dangerous. America is losing economic, diplomatic and military influence in the region – especially in Iraq, which is years away from stability and could descend into civil war, leading to its break-up. Hamas is in control of the Palestinian parliament – through a legitimate election among the Palestinian people. Terrorism is on the rise across the Middle East as well as the world. Egypt, Syria and Lebanon all face serious challenges that are showing signs of worsening.

Critically needed oil for the global economy is in constant jeopardy as Islamic extremism intensifies and global instability increases. Israel continues to struggle in a world of certain unpredictability. This is the reality of the Middle East.

Any realistic resolution to the Iran­ian nuclear threat will require a diplomatic approach that recognises the regional landscape as well as the interests and differences of our two countries. There will be no lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear threat until the broader interests of Iran, the US, the region and the world are addressed.

The US should engage Iran directly with an agenda open to all areas of agreement and disagreement. It is only through this difficult diplomatic process that a pathway towards resolution and accommodation can be built, putting the US and Iran, the Middle East and our allies in a position to defuse a potential Middle East conflagration and world calamity.

Iran is a complicated nation. It represents a 5,000-year-old sophisticated and proud culture. Seventy per cent of Iran’s population is under the age of 25. It is not a monolithic government. Iran’s belligerent president has limited real authority in the Iranian theocracy. We can help support those in Iran who want to find a solution.

The lone world superpower must not act precipitously. If both sides do not moderate the overheated rhetoric, we will drive ourselves into a corner of dangerous and irresponsible dead-end options.

We must redirect deepening Middle East hostilities towards the high ground of resolution. We must be resolute and clear-headed in our dealings with Iran but, in the process, we must not needlessly lose its future generations or the future generations of the Muslim and Arab worlds by carelessly pushing them into the arms of the extremists. That would produce a far more dangerous world than the one we live in today.

The US, in partnership with our allies, should work towards a package of issues for discussion with Iran. This is not negotiation. That comes later. Ultimately, any resolution will most likely require security assurances for Iran.

We must carefully think through the Iranian challenge – unlike how we proceeded in Iraq. A military option is not a long-term solution to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Attacking Iran and destroying its nuclear facilities would not destroy Iran’s ability and knowledge to come back at nuclear capability again and again.

A US military strike in Iran would make Iran’s determination that much stronger. A military option would also inflame the Middle East and the global Muslim population, crippling US security, economic and strategic interests worldwide.

The US must not allow itself to become isolated in the Middle East, in the Muslim world and among its friends and allies at the UN. This is critical to its global stature and future influence and ability to lead in a very dangerous world at a time of global transformation. The world must have confidence in America’s leadership and trust its purpose.

We should learn from the productive results of the last 60 years of multi­lateral co-operation, thoughtful American leadership and effective allied partnerships.

For all the imperfections, challenges and problems of those last 60 years, we have accomplished some important things for the world. Let us not forget or discard how we did that. We need this kind of innovative thinking and diplomacy now – maybe more than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis. It is not too late.

The writer is a Republican senator from Nebraska and a senior member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee