Experts See Iran Swap Deal as an Opportunity for Engagement

Last month Turkey and Brasil reached an agreement with Iran to swap some of Iran's low enriched uranium in return for special fuel rods for Iran's medical research reactor.  The diplomatic move generated much political controversy.  Some see the agreement as a opportunity for engagement, while some - especially in the West - see the agreement as Iran's effort to disrupt international efforts to impose multilateral sanctions.

A group of the nine foreign policy and nonproliferation experts said in a statement on June 1 that the new offer should not be dismissed:

"We urge the so-called Vienna Group (Russia, France, the United States, and the IAEA) to seriously pursue this proposal as an opening for further diplomatic engagement with Iran on outstanding issues of concern."

The statement was signed by former weapons inspector David Kay, former U.S. Under Secretary of State Tom Pickering, and numerous Ploughshares Fund grantees:  Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association, Gen. Robert Gard, Chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Dr. Jeffrey Lewis of the New America Foundation, and Dr. Jim Walsh of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  The statement, was coordinated by the National Iranian American Council - a Ploughshares Grantee.