The key message in President Obama’s State of the Union speech earlier this week was that the President is willing to take action this year – with or without the support of a recalcitrant Congress. While the bulk of his discussion focused on executive action on economic issues, President Obama made it clear that this mindset also applies to Iran, an issue that has embroiled both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue in an ongoing fight over new sanctions and the direction of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
Obama’s State of the Union: Give Diplomacy a Chance
Last Tuesday night, when President Obama delivered his State of Union address to Congress, he made it clear that his focus for the coming year and his second term would be to “give diplomacy a chance.” Diplomacy, he emphasized, is the best solution to our current conflicts; military might alone cannot get the job done.
The “Dismantlement” SNAFU
Last week, in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in Davos, Switzerland, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that Iran will not destroy any of its approximately 19,000 centrifuges, roughly 10,000 of which are currently being used to enrich uranium.
New Jersey Star-Ledger Publishes Letter to the Editor on Undermining Iran Nuclear Accord by Usha Sahay
Robert Menendez, Cory Booker undermine Iran accordBy Usha Sahay In her Jan. 23 op-ed “N.J. senators a threat to Iran deal,” Rachel Staley argues that Sen. Robert Menendez’s sanctions bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) and 43 Republican senators, undermines ongoing attempts to cap Iran’s nuclear program. For three decades, the United States […]
A necessary evil
By Kingston Reif Published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Online on January 22, 2013. Article summary below; read the full text here. On January 20, the provisions of a historic nuclear agreement between Iran and six powers took effect. Reached last November in Geneva, the deal between the P5+1—the United States, China, Russia, Great […]