Middle East & North Africa

David H. Petraeus, retired four star general and former CIA director, testified before the House Armed Services Committee on "The State of the World," Feb. 1, 2017 

Preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is vital to U.S. national security interests. A key aspect of that matter is Iran’s compliance with its Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and with other related agreements. It is a broad subject, but I understand the Committee has specific interests, so I will confine my statement to those topics.

Executive Director for Research, Dr. Gary Samore, testifies at the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing, " Dismantling Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program: Next Steps to Achieve A Comprehensive Deal."

In my testimony, I will focus on the verification aspects of elements needed in a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran, which is being negotiated as a next stage to the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) concluded in Geneva on 24 November 2013.

Testimony by Belfer Center Senior Fellow William H. Tobey before the House Armed Service Committee on the importance of preventing nuclear weapon attainment by Iran for U.S. national security.

Accelerators can eventually be substituted for nuclear research reactors for the production of medical isotopes and for neutron-based research and other applications. The use of accelerators would reduce dependence on HEU and decrease the resulting risks. The United States and other countries should work together to provide the funding and exchange of information and ideas needed to speed up the development, demonstration, and deployment of technically and economically viable accelerator technologies to substitute for research reactors.

The United States' extended system of security commitments creates a set of institutional relationships that foster political communication. Alliance institutions are first about security protection, but they also bind states together and create institutional channels of communication. For example, NATO has facilitated ties and associated institutions that increase the ability of the United States and Europe to talk to each other and to do business. Likewise, the bilateral alliances in East Asia also play a communication role beyond narrow security issues. Consultations and exchanges spill over into other policy areas. This gives the United States the capacity to work across issue areas, using assets and bargaining chips in one area to make progress in another.

Olli Heinonen presents testimony that will focus on the nuclear dossiers of Iran and Syria to provide a snapshot of where the nuclear programs of Iran and Syria currently stand and highlight some key implications.