Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s apparent intent to sabotage the Iran nuclear agreement represents strategic malpractice at its worst, according to a new policy brief from the Center for American Progress.
Such a move would invite more global instability in a Middle East region already ravaged by civil war and terrorism and create a second nuclear crisis at the same time the United States faces a potential conflict with a nuclear-armed North Korea, the brief says.
Withdrawal from the international deal that has prevented Iran from getting a nuclear weapon would also do lasting damage to American negotiating credibility, leaving both allies and adversaries to wonder whether any agreement struck with the United States will hold between presidential administrations. And the Trump administration has not shown the ability to either conduct the sort of complex negotiations required to restrain Iran’s nuclear program or, worse, manage the likely crisis that would follow a failed renegotiation attempt.
“The United States should choose a pragmatic path forward to ensure the strict implementation of the nuclear agreement and counter Iran’s destabilizing actions,” said Brian Katulis, a co-author of the brief. Policy options to strengthen the deal include:
- Providing additional resources to intelligence agencies and international institutions responsible for verifying Iranian compliance with the deal
- Strengthening intelligence cooperation with key allies and partners to prepare for the expiration of the agreement
Read the policy brief: “Strengthening U.S. Options on Iran” by Brian Katulis, Peter Juul, Hardin Lang, Dan Benaim, Yoram Schweitzer, Rudy deLeon, and Alia Awadallah.
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Sam Hananel at [email protected] or 202-478-6327.