Former Bush NSA Stephen Hadley Discusses US Options on Iran

The current US-Iranian standoff over the latter country’s nuclear program is a situation framed by difficult decisions and less-than-ideal outcomes, according to Stephen Hadley, former National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush. In an off-the-record discussion hosted by the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Hadley outlined his own perspectives on the most likely avenues for an Iran without nuclear weapons.

In particular, Hadley stressed caution in light of the detrimental impact that any military actions against Iran could have on US policy across the entire Middle East. The former Assistant to President Bush pressed on to assert that this need for caution meant America’s goal should be to convince Iran to surrender its nuclear ambitions without the use of force.

This, of course, implies a robust role for diplomacy. But Hadley also warned that time is not on the side of US diplomatic efforts, as the Iranians continue to march closer to nuclear weapons capabilities. If American diplomatic efforts are to succeed, he suggested, the US will need to bring to bear not only the typical tools of the diplomatic trade, but also a savvy understanding of Iranian domestic politics, and a willingness to retain the credible threat of a military option as a legitimizer of diplomatic efforts like the P5+1.