A U.S. Commitment to Real Diplomacy Is the Surest Way to Prevent an Iranian Nuclear Weapon

On June 27, 19 former diplomats, scholars, researchers, and other experts joined Ploughshares and the Iran Project to release the following statement:

The U.S. attack on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend was a dangerous military action, derailing ongoing negotiations to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon while bringing the US and Iran to the brink of an all-out war. 

Just a few days earlier, President Trump stated that reaching a political agreement with Iran was a priority, and set a two-week window to continue diplomatic talks. As national security and foreign policy professionals, we call on the Trump Administration to redouble efforts to secure the nascent ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran and commit to a serious diplomatic process to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. Diplomacy is the most viable path to prevent Iran from developing these weapons in the long run. 

Prior to the strikes on Saturday, the U.S. intelligence community had assessed that Iran had not made a decision to build a nuclear bomb, and was several months away, if not longer, from being able to assemble a crude device. Despite this assessment, President Trump launched a military operation on three key nuclear sites in Iran that were under International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) safeguards. These strikes dramatically reduced the IAEA’s visibility into Iran’s nuclear activities and were carried out while talks between European and Iranian diplomats were underway, risking the possibility of Tehran’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 

Iran’s retaliatory strikes on the U.S. military’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday appear to have been calibrated and messaged in advance, indicating a desire to contain tensions and head off a wider confrontation. Now is the time for the U.S. to pursue a return to talks with Iran with realistic expectations to secure a strong nuclear agreement. A top priority should be a swift return of IAEA inspectors to key facilities in Iran. 

Recent polling shows that there is strong support among Americans for U.S. leadership to achieve a diplomatic solution to address Iran’s nuclear activities. American service members should not be asked to fight in another unnecessary war in the Middle East, nor should the American people be asked to pay for it. President Trump has spoken of the need to curb the threat of nuclear weapons. We, the undersigned individuals, urge the President, with the full support of the U.S. Congress, to be the historic leader that secures an effective, verifiable negotiated agreement that prevents an Iranian nuclear weapon. 

Stephen Heintz, President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund 

James Acton, Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

Alexandra Bell, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Affairs, Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability, U.S. Department of State 

Emma Belcher, President, Ploughshares 

Thomas M. Countryman, Chairman, Board of Directors, Arms Control Association 

Toby Dalton, Co-Director, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Kelsey Davenport, Director for Nonproliferation Policy, Arms Control Association 

Suzanne DiMaggio, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

Robert Einhorn, Former Assistant Secretary for Nonproliferation and the Secretary of State’s Special Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control; Senior Fellow, Brookings 

Frank N. von Hippel, Professor of Public and International Affairs emeritus, Princeton University Ambassador 

Bonnie Jenkins, Former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security 

Laura Kennedy, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament; Former U.S. Chargé at U.S. Mission to International Organizations; Arms Control Association Board 

Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director, Arms Control Association 

George A. Lopez, Professor emeritus, Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame 

Jessica T. Mathews, Former Director of the Office of Global Issues of the National Security Council 

Stephen D. Mull, Former Acting Under Secretary for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State 

Tom Pickering, Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Ambassador to the United Nations, Israel, Russia, India, El Salvador, Nigeria, and Jordan 

Paul R. Pillar, Former National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia, Georgetown University 

Gary Sick, Captain US Navy (ret); Columbia University 

Jim Walsh, Senior Research Associate, MIT Security Studies Program 

All affiliations are listed for identification purposes only.