Nuclear Issues

Laura Rockwood, Senior Research Fellow in the Project on Managing the Atom at the Belfer Center, discusses the likely outcome of the current phase of Iranian nuclear negotiations, which conclude on November 24th, in an interview with Deutsche Welle. She doubts that a full comprehensive agreement will be reached on the 24th, and argues that some extension of the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) will continue with an extension of the negotiations.

Gary Samore, speaking in Oslo on September 20th at the International Institute for Strategic Studies's Global Strategic Review, reiterated his skepticism that a final nuclear accord will be reached with Iran in the near future. Despite steps forward in the structure of negotiations, he argued, underlying factors make a comprehensive deal unlikely. Watch the video and read the full text of his speech after the jump.

Payam Mohseni, just returned from a long trip to Iran, offers his observations on Iranian attitudes toward nuclear negotiations gleaned from meetings with Iranians from across the political spectrum. He finds a distinct disconnect between Iranian and American perceptions of the relationship between the two countries.

Nine foreign policy experts—Nicholas Burns, Chuck Freilich, Orde Kittrie, Martin Malin, Gary Samore, Michael Singh,Ariane Tabatabai, Will Tobey, and Mark Wallace—write on what they believe the extension of P5+1 talks will mean for the future of nuclear negotiations with Iran. 

The Israeli writer Ari Shavit had a piece in the November 20 New York Times that asserted that the proposed first-stage deal with Iran “would guarantee” that Iran would eventually build a nuclear bomb.  I think he’s completely wrong, for reasons I explained in an op-ed of my own in the Christian Science Monitor.