One Year In, the Iran Deal is Working

Now we need to protect it

On July 14, 2015, the historic Iran nuclear deal was announced in Vienna. One year later, the agreement is working: all of Iran's pathways to a nuclear weapon have been verifiably blocked, and international sanctions lifted. The agreement was won not by force, but by diplomacy. Over the course of the past 6 months since the deal was implemented in January, a number of experts, editorial boards and thought leaders have written about the benefits of the agreement -- and why it's so important that we protect it. Here are some valuable and informative quotations by some of them, and the articles from which they are sourced. 

 

"One year later, the nuclear deal between Iran and the major powers is working. It has substantially restricted Iran’s ability to produce fissile material, the key ingredient for a nuclear bomb, and in that way has made the world safer."

Don’t Let Iran’s Progress on the Nuclear Deal Go to Waste,The New York Times Editorial Board, 7/5/2016


"As a result of Iran's initial compliance with the agreement, the deal has extended the time it would take Tehran to ‘break out’ and assemble enough fissile material for one nuclear weapon from two to three months to a year or more. The agreement has also strengthened our intelligence agencies' understanding of Iran's nuclear program and significantly improved the likelihood we will detect any incidents in which Iran litigates the boundaries of the deal."

The lessons of the Iran deal, Sen. Chris Coons for CNN, 6/24/2016


“This agreement removed most of the immediate concerns about the Iranian nuclear program. Its validation by the leading world powers endows it with exceptional authority.”

The Iran nuclear deal has been a Middle East game-changer, Gary Sick and Frank Wisner for The Plain Dealer, 6/12/2016


“Assuming implementation, the JCPOA contains a number of innovations that could in future years be applied in other countries to bolster confidence that their nuclear programs will be exclusively peaceful."

The Iran Deal’s Building Blocks of a Better Nuclear Order, George Perkovich, 6/9/2016


“Never before has a sovereign country signed onto such severe restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program as Iran is accepting to assure the world that any activity is for peaceful civilian purposes. This is a profound success if fully implemented — one that both avoids war with Iran and, with sanctions relief, boosts international trade as Iran gradually reintegrates into world markets.”

Most U.S. states have sanctions against Iran. Here’s why that’s a problem, Jo-Anne Hart and Sue Eckert for The Washington Post, 6/1/2016


“The success in reaching the JCPOA on the Iranian nuclear program in Vienna in July 2015 was a milestone in international non-proliferation diplomacy.”

Working Toward a Nuclear-Weapons-Free Mideast, Shemuel Meir for LobeLog, 5/30/2016


“In the years preceding the JCPOA, it had practically become the conventional wisdom that, given Iran’s nuclear program, several additional nuclear-armed states would inevitably emerge in the Middle East. That conventional wisdom has largely been discredited.”

The Iran Nuclear Deal: Prelude to Proliferation in the Middle East?, Robert Einhorn and Richard Nephew for the Brookings Institution, May 2016


"For the past decade, Iran’s nuclear advance has required their laser-like concentration on what, if Iran succeeded in developing nuclear weapons, would pose an existential threat to their nation. They now believe that that threat has been postponed for at least five years, and more likely a decade or more, which allows them to address other serious challenges."

Is Iran Still Israel’s Top Threat?, Graham Allison for The Atlantic, 3/8/2016


"Of these four examples — Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran — only the diplomatic process in Iran can be called a success. Military intervention has produced two utter failures in Iraq and Libya. Syria is too soon to call. But if you’re looking to place bets on military intervention or diplomacy, the evidence is clear. It’s hard to argue with President Obama’s new, wiser mantra for U.S. foreign policy: ‘Don’t do stupid stuff.'"

How Should the Next President Use Military Force?, Tom Collina forThe National Interest , 3/7/2016


"Congress must do everything in its power to make sure it continues to comply with both the letter and spirit of the nuclear accord. With the success the accord has already made in scaling back Iran's nuclear program, we cannot afford an escalation that would jeopardize this progress and put our countries on a path toward war."

Groundhog Day for the Iran Deal, Kate Gould and Kyle Cristofalo for U.S. News and World Report, 2/3/2016


"Not only has… the Iran nuclear deal... provided new ways to communicate and resolve incidents with a sometimes hostile adversary, it has also strengthened global peace and security by preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon — without firing a shot."

Despite Iran Deal Success, Beware of Attempts to Undermine It, Susan Shear and Erica Fein for The World Post, 2/1/2016


"Just five years ago, the talk in Washington was about war… But diplomacy proved superior to military action. Iran has surrendered its nuclear-weapons capabilities. It has ripped out two-thirds of its centrifuges for enriching uranium, shipped out 98 percent of its stockpile of uranium gas, and accepted strict limits on all its activities for at least 15 years."

The Diplomat-in-Chief Hits a National Security Trifecta, Joe Cirincione for Defense One, 1/20/2016


"Iran's compliance with key portions of the agreement, which was certified Saturday by the International Atomic Energy Agency, places significant obstacles in the way of its ability to develop nuclear weapons. As Obama noted, Iran has removed two-thirds of its centrifuges and shipped more than 98% of its enriched uranium out of the country. It has filled a reactor capable of producing plutonium with concrete."

Obama's careful engagement with Iran pays off, The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board, 1/19/2016


"This is a moment many thought would never come: Iran has delivered on its commitment under a 2015 agreement with the United States and other major powers to curb or eliminate the most dangerous elements of its nuclear program. The world is now safer for this."

A Safer World, Thanks to the Iran DealThe New York Times Editorial Board, 1/17/2016