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Iran’s nuclear program poses a serious challenge to international security and regional stability. While it is unclear that the Islamic Republic has definitively decided to build nuclear weapons, the country’s evasion of its responsibilities under the international Non-Proliferation Treaty renders it suspect. Following is news, analysis and opinion from Ploughshares Fund staff, grantees and guests on the ongoing struggle to deal with nuclear weapons in Iran.
Three Paths toward a Nuclear Deal with Iran
It’s easy to miss amid the escalation of sanctions and nuclear bravado, but EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Tehran’s lead negotiator Saeed Jalili will meet on May 15 in Istanbul to follow up on last months talks between the P5+1 and Iran. The last round of multilateral talks ended inconclusively, and it has taken a little over a month to get even a one-on-one meeting on the calendar. While no date has been set for a new round of talks with representatives from all seven countries at the table, the upcoming meeting between Ashton and Jalili provides an opportunity to begin planning for how to make negotiations more productive than previous attempts. Getting on a road more promising than the current intermittent exchanges will require a few key steps: Read more »
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Posted by Reza Marashi on May 13, 2013
Nuclear proliferation, Partners, Reza Marashi, Iran, United States
Iran Project Calls for Accelerating Diplomacy With Iran
Recently, The Iran Project released its much anticipated third report entitled “Strategic Options for Iran: Balancing Pressure with Diplomacy.” As a group of highly respected national security experts and former U.S. government officials, it provides thoughtful analysis on the complex U.S.-Iran relationship. This report offers concrete, strategic policy recommendations that call for the administration to invest as much energy in negotiations with Iran as it has in putting pressure on the Iranian government. Read more »
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Posted by Hilary Johnson on April 24, 2013
Middle East, Iran and weapons of mass destruction, Iran Project, Sanctions against Iran, Iran
New Talks with Iran
The United States, along with the other permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany (P5+1), are set to resume negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear program on February 26 in Kazakhstan. Read more »
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Posted by Rebecca Remy on February 7, 2013
Diplomacy, Arms Control Association, Daryl Kimball, Grantee, Greg Thielmann, Kelsey Davenport, Military Option, Nuclear Weapons, Partners, Tom Collina, Iran
Top 10 Books for Your 2013 Radioactive Reading Resolution
With a new year come exciting opportunities to expand your knowledge of nuclear issues. Since you have probably read through last year’s list (well done!) and our summer list (kudos!), we’re providing you with a brand new list to satisfy your reading resolution for 2013. Covering diverse topics from Hiroshima manga (Japanese graphic novels) to the development of the bomb in Pakistan there is something to satisfy the nuclear wonk in everyone. Read more »
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Posted by Jessica Sleight on January 22, 2013
Japan, Book Review, Entertainment, Nuclear Terrrorism, Nuclear Zero, Russia, Pakistan, Iran
Former Top-Ranked Military Officers Favor Negotiations over Conflict with Iran
During a roundtable discussion hosted by the American Security Project, Admiral William J. Fallon (USN Ret.) and Lieutenant General Frank Kearney (USA Ret.) spoke about the U.S. military policy options towards Iran. American Security Project’s CEO, Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney USMC (Ret.), moderated the conversation. Read more »
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Posted by Yelena Altman on January 17, 2013
Middle East, Partners, Iran
North Korea’s Rocket Launch: Who’s Up, Who’s Down?
As the United Nations Security Council considers a response to the North Korean missile launch, I’d like to offer my view on the immediate “winners and losers” from this episode. Read more »
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Posted by Paul Carroll on December 12, 2012
North Korea, Iran
Weighing Benefits and Costs of International Sanctions Against Iran
The Iran Project, a group of leading national security experts and former officials, and a grantee of Ploughshares Fund, has published a new report about the costs and benefits of international sanctions against Iran. The report, endorsed by 38 leading national security figures, springs from the observation that “the costs of sanctions themselves are not routinely addressed in the public or policymaking debate.” Read more »
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Posted by Yelena Altman on December 7, 2012
Bill Luers, Jim Walsh, Nuclear proliferation, Thomas Pickering, Iran
North Korea Preparing for Rocket Launch
On the radar: Launch Dec. 10-22; New START data; Nuclear buildup?; Obama speaking at Nunn-Lugar event; New sanctions report; Exaggerated Iran fears; Senate votes for sanctions, over WH objections; and a Nuclear mascot. Read more »
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Posted on December 3, 2012
Near-term Options for Nuclear Reductions with Russia
On the radar: Reciprocal actions, deeper reductions; White House supports CMRR cut; No vote for East Coast BMD; Latest sanctions proposal; US deadline on Iran; Second term challenges with Iran, missile defense, and China; RoK scrubs launch; and an Explosive report on lunar research. Read more »
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Posted on November 30, 2012
The Pentagon’s New Precision-Guided, Nuclear Budget Buster
  On the radar: High accuracy, low yield, huge budget; Shoddy science; Decisions for the 2nd term; “Armageddon on a Budget”; Nukes and the NDAA; Japan’s plutonium buildup; Israeli BMD; and Mousavian on a grand bargain.   Read more »
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Posted on November 29, 2012