In this volume, established Middle East experts, former diplomats, and emerging scholars assess the regional realities from a broad range of perspectives and, with the current momentum for reform across the Middle East, chart a path towards a comprehensive mechanism that could promote long-term regional security.

MTA Associate Chen Zak Kane wrote "The Middle East's Interrupted Atomic Dreams" for Foreign Policy.  Kane considers why as oil prices drop, and nuclear power becomes less attractive in the Middle East, Iran still pursues nuclear power.

"On April 19, 2006, Iran's former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Hassan Rohani, publicly criticized his successor's handling of their country's nuclear negotiations with the West. In what was, for Iran, a rare public expression of discontent, he called for 'more balance in our decisions and [the need] to approach the issue with more reason and less emotion. . . .' "

"Satellite photos published last week showed two sites in Iran that might house a civilian energy program and/or a nuclear weapons program. To determine exactly what purpose these sites serve would require an on-site inspection. Yet, inspections performed by international regulatory agencies are bound by certain limitations. What are the chances that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the organization responsible for verifying compliance to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), will detect clandestine nuclear activities in these two sites or elsewhere in Iran?"

In this book, Ms. Zak asserts that the Islamic Republic of Iran provides a good test case for evaluating the implementation of Program 93+2. She examines whether this new verification system would permit the identification of Iranian nuclear weapons development and whether a regional agreement might ultimately prove to be a more effective option for the Middle East.

Is the international community paying enough attention to Iran's WMD programs?