Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

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Quote of the Day: Unintended Consequences Edition

“[A]n attack would make a nuclear-armed Iran inevitable. They would just bury the program deeper and make it more covert…The results of an American or Israeli military strike on Iran could, in my view, prove catastrophic, haunting us for generations in that part of the world.”

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking about Iran at the Norfolk Forum, October 3, 2012. Gates was Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011, serving in both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations.

He went on to add that sanctions on Iran are “our best chance going forward, to ratchet up the economic pressure and diplomatic isolation to the point where the Iranian leadership concludes that it actually hurts Iranian security and, above all, the security of the regime itself, to continue to pursue nuclear weapons.”

Fact Sheet: Statements Against a Military Attack on Iran

Updated by Usha Sahay U.S. Military Officials “The current U.S.-led push to force Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions through steadily increasing economic and diplomatic pressure is beginning to show results and it would be “premature” to resort to military force.” -Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, January 26, 2012 “After […]

There’s a Fine Line, Mr. Romney: The Governor’s Iran Problem

There’s been a lot of talk about “red lines” lately. Speaking to CNN about Iran’s nuclear program on September 16, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defined the term as “a stage in the enrichment or other nuclear activities that [the Iranians] cannot cross because they’ll face consequences.” Earlier this month, Netanyahu asserted that “those in the international community who refuse to draw a red line on Iran have no moral right to draw a red line for Israel.”

Iran Project Report: A Welcome Dose of Long-Term Thinking

As Iran continues its nuclear program and Israel ramps up its threatening rhetoric, there has been widespread speculation about whether Israel will launch a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, when it might do so, and to what extent the US would support such an attack. But amidst all of the debate, far less has been said about what a strike would require, how it would be carried out and what its effects might be. On Thursday, September 13, the Iran Project released a highly-publicized report that offers a refreshingly level-headed analysis of some of the consequences of a strike against Iran.