Dear ACA Members and Supporters:
For more than two decades, the Arms Control Association and Arms Control Today have been providing practical ideas and information to address concerns about Iran's sensitive nuclear activities.
Over that time, there have been many twists and turns, positive breakthroughs like the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and letdowns, like President Trump's unlilateral withdrawal from that deal in 2018.
Once again, we are at a critical pivot point.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators were engaged in serious talks on a new deal to block Iran's pathways to nuclear weapons, and IAEA inspectors were maintaining safeguards on key sites and nuclear materials. Then, Israel launched its military strikes against Iran on June 13.
Trump's decision -- at the behest of Israel and without congressional consultation, let alone congressional authorization — to pivot away from negotiations with Iran and to join Israel’s illegal attack by ordering U.S. strikes on the Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan nuclear sites not only risked a wider war with Iran, but it has severely complicated the long-term task of containing Iran's nuclear weapons potential.
As I told Wolf Blitzer on CNN's The Situation Room this morning, military action can roll-back Iran's nuclear program by a few months, but it cannot eliminate it. Even after the U.S. strikes, Iran's nuclear knowledge, its enriched uranium stockpile, and the regime's determination to keep its nuclear program going are still there. And we know less about its status without the IAEA’s eyes on the ground.
