Blocking an Iranian Bomb

Matthew Bunn, Professor of Practice and Co-Principle Investigator of the Project on Managing the Atom at the Belfer Center, writes in The National Interest that if we consider a "good deal" to be an agreement that reduces Iran's chances of building a nuclear bomb more than alternative options, then the current framework announced at Lausanne is a good deal. He argues that the deal includes stringent technical terms that will make any breakout attempt much more detectable, and also notes that politically the deal decrease the immediate military threat to Iran, diminishing the need for a nuclear bomb, while sanctions relief will create economic disincentives to returning to the nuclear confrontation. Finally, he suggests that the alternatives to a deal, such as a return to sanctions and pressure or a military attack, are much less likely at this point of achieving the goal of an Iran without a nuclear weapon.