In The News

How to Know if the Iran Deal Is a Good Deal

Joe Cirincione March 31, 2015
An agreement on containing Iran’s nuclear program should include three elements, explains Joe Cirincione, president of Ploughshares Fund: allow a civilian nuclear program but block all pathways to a bomb, organize thorough inspections and provide rapid response on punishments for cheating. IAEA officials have suggested that new inspection procedures could detect cheating in a matter of days. The...

After Letter to Tehran From US Republicans, the Middle East (Except for Israel) Stays Silent

Erin Banco March 13, 2015
World leaders are accustomed to the increasing polarization in US politics. The Obama administration is in the middle of negotiating with Iran over curtailing its nuclear program, allowing inspections and lifting sanctions. Republicans hold a majority in the 100-member US Senate, and 47 of them disrupted diplomatic protocol, sending a note to Iran to warn that any deal is at risk once Barack...

Saudi Nuclear Deal Raises Stakes for Iran Talks

Jay Solomon and Ahmed Al Omran March 13, 2015
Saudi Arabia, possibly nudged by rival Iran’s negotiations with the US and allies, has signed its own civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with South Korea. This follows similar Saudi agreements with China, France and Argentina. Saudi officials have criticized the US position on the Iranian negotiations, and the US has agreements with allies France and South Korea that prohibit distribution of...

Iran Nuclear Talks: The 5 Options for What Happens If They Fail

Seyed Hossein Mousavian March 5, 2015
In an address to US Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized negotiations to end Iran’s nuclear program by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council along with Germany as it “doesn’t block Iran’s path to the bomb; it paves Iran’s path to the bomb.” The negotiations are making “unprecedented progress,” writes Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former spokesman for Iran’s...

Netanyahu, Obama and the Geopolitics of Speeches

George Friedman March 4, 2015
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing US Congress, warned that a deal with Iran, under negotiation with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, is inadequate. George Friedman, chairman of Stratfor Global Intelligence, writes that the issue at stake is larger than the nuclear deal under negotiation and outlines the history of US-Israeli relations: “the...

Nuclear Talks, Glutted Markets Offer Iranian Economy Little Relief

Keith Johnson November 25, 2014
The deadline for an agreement for Iran to wind down its alleged nuclear weapons programs has been extended for seven months. Continued sanctions for Iran combined with low oil prices mean economic pain for Iranians and could threaten moderates who support an agreement and better ties with the West: “Unwinding limitations on Iranian oil exports will take time; it will take even longer to juice oil...

Iran’s Nuclear Smuggling Legacy: Finders Keepers?

Leonard S. Spector November 18, 2014
November 24 is the deadline for Iran concluding a deal to limit its suspect nuclear program. “A final agreement is expected, among its key provisions, to authorize Iran to operate a small enrichment facility and to provide the IAEA-enhanced inspection rights in that country,” notes Leonard S. Spector, based at the James Martin Center of Nonproliferation Studies. “Since illicitly acquired goods...