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Iran

  • Iran’s Growing Weapons Capability and Its Impact on Negotiations
    Arms Control Today
    December 4, 2009

    The crisis over Iran’s growing nuclear weapons capabilities is rapidly reaching a critical point. Recent developments do not bode well for the prospect of successful negotiations that can end concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, at least in the short term.

    These concerns center on two related questions: whether Iran can be prevented from using its nuclear program for weapons purposes, and how much confidence the United States and other countries can have in verification measures to ensure that the Iranians are not using their program for such purposes. Iran still has far to go to establish convincingly the peaceful nature of its nuclear efforts. The international community, chiefly through the diplomatic efforts directed by the “P5+1”—the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) plus Germany—has sought to resolve the issue both through diplomatic engagement and, where necessary, pressure.

     
  • Editor's Note
    Arms Control Today
    December 4, 2009
  • Report Confirms Iran Did Not Meet Safeguards Obligations at Qom: Experts Call for Greater IAEA Access
    Press Room
    November 16, 2009

    Nov.16 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran established a clear standard of transparency regarding Iran's nuclear activities, said arms control experts at the Washington-based Arms Control Association (ACA).
  • Iranian Response to LEU Fuel Deal Unclear
    Arms Control Today
    November 5, 2009

    Iran failed to respond formally in October to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proposal under which most of Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) would be converted to nuclear fuel abroad. The delayed response coincided with mixed messages from Iranian officials and state media regarding Iran’s approach to the arrangement and with vocal opposition to the proposal from political opponents of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
  • ACA Event - Iran's Nuclear Challenge: Where to Go From Here? Full transcript now available
    ACA Events
    October 15, 2009

    Panelists: Paul Pillar, Greg Thielmann, and James Dobbins
  • Greg Thielmann Discusses Iranian Nuclear Program at Cannon Building
    Arms Control TV
    October 7, 2009

    On October 7, 2009, Senior Fellow Greg Thielmann participated in a briefing to congressional staffers and the press on the Iranian nuclear program arranged by Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX). His remarks at the Cannon House Office Building built on his September ACA Threat Assessment Brief, "Is There Time to Prevent an Iranian Nuclear Weapon?" (PDF).  Watch it here.
  • Secret Iranian Enrichment Facility Revealed
    Arms Control Today
    October 5, 2009

    Iran has been constructing a second uranium-enrichment facility in secret, the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States announced during a Sept. 25 press briefing. In a statement delivered on behalf of the three countries and Germany, President Barack Obama said “the size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program.”
  • MEDIA ADVISORY: Arms Control Experts Respond to Revelation of Iran's Secret Nuclear Site
    Press Room
    September 25, 2009

    Experts from the Arms Control Association (ACA) supports the call by the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany for immediate inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of Iran's recently disclosed uranium enrichment facility near the city of Qom. ACA experts also endorse the intention of these governments to seek from Iran "concrete steps to create confidence and transparency in its nuclear program" when Iran meets with the UN Security Council permanent members and Germany (the P5+1) on October 1. (Continue)
  • Is There Time to Prevent an Iranian Nuclear Weapon?
    Threat Assessment Brief
    September 10, 2009

    The Obama administration has identified September as a time for reassessing its approach to negotiation with Tehran over Iran's nuclear program. It is imperative that this reassessment be based on a realistic appraisal of Iran's weaponization capabilities and limitations and not fall prey to politically motivated hyperbole. Iran's nuclear program is undeniably bringing that country closer to an ability to construct nuclear weapons-bad news for the region, the United States, and the world. Yet, a nuclear-armed Iran is years, not months, away, which is ample time for negotiating an outcome that prevents Iran from becoming a nuclear-weapon state while strengthening the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
  • Iran Grants Reactor Access to IAEA
    Arms Control Today
    September 4, 2009

    Iran last month accepted long-standing requests by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for greater access to two key nuclear facilities, diplomatic sources said in August. The move appears to represent a shift in Iran’s willingness to cooperate with the agency, which has expressed increasing concern with Tehran’s lack of transparency on certain activities. (Continue)
  • MEDIA ADVISORY: ACA Analysis of IAEA Report on Iran
    Press Room
    August 29, 2009

    (Washington, D.C.) --According to a report released today by the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA), Iran continues to slowly but steadily work to expand its uranium enrichment capacity at Natanz and to complete construction of a heavy-water reactor at Arak. Both are safeguarded by the IAEA against use for military purposes, but either could be used to produce fissile material for weapons if Tehran decided to withdraw from the NPT and risk an overt push for nuclear weapons. (Continue)
  • Iran’s Outstanding Nuclear Issues at a Glance
    Fact Sheets & Briefs
    July 14, 2009

    July 2009
  • U.S. Still Committed to Engaging Iran
    Arms Control Today
    July 2, 2009

    Responding to postelection turmoil in Iran and accusations of voting fraud in favor of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Washington has reaffirmed its intention to pursue a dialogue with Tehran regarding its nuclear program. (Continue)
  • Preventive Military Action: The Worst Way to Deal With Iran's Nuclear Program
    Threat Assessment Brief
    June 18, 2009

    Although the possibility of Iranian nuclear weapons is a major concern for Israel and the United States, leaving the "military option" on the table is counterproductive. Preventive military action by either country against Iran's nuclear facilities would only delay, rather than halt, Tehran's nuclear program, and it would cause Iran to retaliate against the United States as well as Israel. The aftermath of such an attack would be disastrous for the U.S.position in the region-particularly for relations with Israel and with Iraq-and its position in the wider world.
  • Congress Weighs Iran Sanctions, Diplomacy
    Arms Control Today
    June 4, 2009

    Congressional committee leaders are prepared to delay consideration of new legislation intended to stiffen existing sanctions aimed at Iran's energy sector in order to allow time for the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue to make progress, according to public and private statements from Capitol Hill. (Continue)