The United States has an historic opportunity to limit Iran's nuclear program, block its pathways to the bomb, and guard against a covert nuclear weapons program.
There are compelling reasons to prefer an extension over unpalatable alternatives that risk further undermining the prospects for stability in the Middle East.
The United States must reorient its diplomatic efforts to offset the likely shortcomings of an achievable deal and prepare a fallback if a credible deal proves elusive.
Additional sanctions from Congress will be interpreted in Iran and around the world as a unilateral breach of the commitments the United States and its five negotiating partners made in their 2013 interim deal with Iran.
At a December conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons use, many delegates emphasized that “humanitarian considerations should…be at the core of all nuclear disarmament deliberations.”
The failure of Iran and the six-country group known as the P5+1 to bridge their differences on a comprehensive nuclear agreement by their November 2014 target date is disappointing.
Under the terms of the extension, Iran and the P5+1 committed to reaching a political agreement on the terms of a comprehensive nuclear deal within four months of November 24, 2014.
Iran and six world powers extended talks on a comprehensive nuclear deal for a second time after failing to reach an agreement last month.
The Arms Control Association and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace invite you to attend a briefing on the outcome of the negotiations and next steps, on Dec. 3 in Washington D.C.