Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently made the bold threat that Iran could restart its nuclear program in a matter of “hours” if it chose to. The remarks are the latest iteration of the Iranian regime’s good cop, bad cop routine.

When discussing the actions of Iran in general and the presidency of Hassan Rouhani in particular, it would be apt to reply with Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr’s famous epigram, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” In the case of Rouhani, there has been much talk of change, but the regime has conducted business as usual inside Iran.