March 13, 2018
How to Save the Iran Nuclear Deal
After a year of complaining about the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), U.S. President Donald Trump finally resorted to threats. In January, he gave Congress and Europe an ultimatum: if they did not fix what he considered the agreement’s shortcomings by May, he would kill the deal.
Trump’s chief objection is that certain restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program expire, or “sunset,” after 10–15 years. He has also raised concerns about Iran’s support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and various Shiite militia groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, and has decried the absence of measures to address Iran’s ballistic missile program. These latter concerns are broadly shared, but Trump seems to harbor unrealistic expectations that the nuclear agreement address all of Iran’s problematic activities. In the rough and tumble world of international diplomacy, it is impossible to get a perfect deal. And the JCPOA stands as a meaningful framework for nuclear arms control, offering a robust inspections regime that ensures compliance. More important, the JCPOA is far superior to the alternatives: allowing Iran, which had already reached the nuclear threshold when the deal was signed, to continue moving forward or else pursuing U.S. military action to set Iran back.
Read the full article in Foreign Affairs.
More from CNAS
-
Legacies of Repression in Egypt and Tunisia: Authoritarianism, Political Mobilization, and Founding Elections
About the Book: When an authoritarian regime collapses, what determines whether an opposition group will form a political party, be successful in mobilizing voters, and surviv...
By Alanna C. Torres-Van Antwerp
-
A New Nuclear Deal With Iran Shouldn’t Be Accompanied By Terrorist Legitimization
Commentary
Removing the label of terrorism should take effort on behalf of the offending party, something the Islamic Republic is unwilling to provide....
By John O'Malley
-
Aligning U.S.-Israeli Cooperation on Technology Issues and China
Reports
The United States and Israel have a long history of working together as close allies. Theirs is a relationship based on common values and security interests. In recent years, ...
By Jonathan Schanzer, Shira Efron, Martijn Rasser & Alice Hickson
-
Protecting The Hazara People Of Afghanistan Is A Moral Obligation The World Is Failing To Meet
Commentary
Once the largest of Afghanistan’s ethnic groups, Hazaras now make uponly 9 percent of Afghanistan’s population of 36 million, and Genocide Watch has declared this a “genocide ...
By Alice Hickson
