In The News

North Korea: Nuclear Bomb Fuel Plants Restarted

September 22, 2015
North Korea threatened to launch rockets in mid-September and also announced that fuel production plants for an atomic bomb have been restarted. It’s an old pattern, the country acting up to receive aid and attention. The international community has repeatedly and soundly condemned the isolated nation for breaking UN resolutions related to production of weapons of mass destruction. “North Korea...

War Actually Is an Alternative to Iran Deal

Philip Gordon August 14, 2015
The Obama administration, along with other nations, negotiated an agreement with Iran on halting its nuclear research program for a limited time and allowing inspections. Opponents urge rejection, suggesting a better agreement can be reached, with Iran capitulating to broader US demands. The opponents scoff at US President Barack Obama’s conclusion that the alternative is more war in the Middle...

Backed by Big Powers, a Successful Iran Deal Could Rescue NPT

Richard Weitz July 16, 2015
The leading impact of the July 14 Iran nuclear deal may be how it affects the overall pace and extent of nuclear-weapons proliferation. To succeed in resolving the Iranian nuclear deal and strengthening barriers against the further spread of nuclear weapons, China, Russia and the United States must cooperate despite their many other differences. “The agreement to freeze Iran’s nuclear-weapons...

Iran Nuclear Deal Is Reached With World

David E. Sanger and Michael R. Gordon July 15, 2015
Six nations brokered a deal with Iran to limit its nuclear ability for 10 years in exchange for an end to debilitating sanctions. The accord could mark the start of a new relationship between the United States and Iran, if the latter cooperates on inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. After 20 months of negotiations, Iran agreed to a 98 percent reduction in its nuclear-fuel...

Will the Real Iran Please Stand Up?

Robert A. Manning April 28, 2015
The nations negotiating to curb Iran’s nuclear research program are divided over strategy, including the intensity of inspections and the schedule for lifting sanctions. Iran is divided, too, explains Robert A. Manning, a senior fellow of the Brent Scowcroft Center for International Security at the Atlantic Council and its Strategic Foresight Initiative. Iranian leaders are issuing conflicting...

Rebalancing the Middle East

Emma Sky April 23, 2015
The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 empowered Iran as did the abrupt American departure in 2011. Since then the region has unraveled. Emma Sky, author and senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute, suggests that US regional policy narrowly focuses on three objectives: the defeat of the Islamic State, neutralization of other extremist groups and a nuclear agreement with Iran. Bilateral...

Iran Deal Reached, Struggle For Acceptance Begins

Dilip Hiro April 2, 2015
The cliff-hanging negotiations over curbing Iran's nuclear program have ended with preliminary agreement. Iran negotiators had to contend with six powers that rarely agree - the US, the UK, China, France, Russia and Germany - as well as internal US polarization. “The hard-knuckle bargaining that has marked high-level negotiations over the past several days at the Swiss resort of Lausanne...