As global crises unfold, President Barack Obama appears to see one silver lining in the clouds on the foreign policy horizon: a nuclear deal with Iran. However, it appears increasingly likely that the November 24 deadline will come and go without a comprehensive agreement, and the stakes could not be higher. A bad deal that leaves too much of Tehran’s nuclear capabilities intact or enables Iran to develop nuclear weapons in the months or years to come could set off a nuclear arms race across the Middle East. Alternatively, a good deal could solve a problem at the heart of much of the turmoil in the region.
Are the United States and European powers prepared to renew sanctions if Iran refuses to comply with demands from the international community and International Atomic Energy Agency? Will the Iranians refuse to concede on any of their own red lines? Will the Obama administration sidestep Congress to achieve a nuclear deal? Please join us at AEI for a timely discussion just a few weeks ahead of the November deadline.
If you are unable to attend, we welcome you to watch the event live on this page. Full video will be posted within 24 hours.
Agenda
1:45 PM
Registration
2:00 PM
Panelists:
David Albright, Institute for Science and International Security
George Perkovich, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Moderator:
Danielle Pletka, AEI
3:00 PM
Adjournment
Event Contact Information
For more information, please contact Katherine Earle at [email protected], 202.862.5872.
Media Contact Information
For media inquiries, please contact [email protected], 202.862.5829.
Speaker Biographies
David Albright, a physicist, is founder and president of the nonprofit Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, DC. He directs the project work of the institute, heads its fundraising efforts, and chairs its board of directors. In addition, he regularly publishes and conducts scientific research. He has written many assessments on secret nuclear weapons programs throughout the world. During his career, Albright has testified numerous times on nuclear issues before the US Congress. He has spoken to many groups, technical workshops, and conferences; briefed government decision makers; and trained many government officials in nonproliferation policymaking. His work is frequently cited by the media, and he has appeared often on television and radio. Albright has co-authored four books, including “Peddling Peril: How the Secret Nuclear Trade Arms America’s Enemies,” (Free Press, 2010) listed by The Atlantic as one of the best foreign affairs books of 2010.
George Perkovich is vice president for studies and director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has worked for decades on challenges of international relations, nuclear deterrence, nonproliferation, and disarmament. Perkovich is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control and of the Council on Foreign Relations. He also served as senior adviser to the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. Since the early 1990s, much of his research and writing has focused on India, Pakistan, and Iran. He was also a speechwriter and foreign policy adviser to Senator Joseph Biden in 1989–90 and is the author of the award-winning history “India’s Nuclear Bomb” (University of California Press, 1999) and coauthor of the Adelphi paper, “Abolishing Nuclear Weapons” (International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2008). His recent essays “Toward Realistic U.S.-India Relations” and “Stop Enabling Pakistan’s Dangerous Dysfunction” examine US policies in South Asia.
Danielle Pletka was a longtime US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations senior professional staff member for the Near East and South Asia. In that role, Pletka was the point person on Middle East, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan issues. As the vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at AEI, Pletka writes on national security matters with a focus on Iran and weapons proliferation, the Middle East, Syria, Israel, and the Arab Spring. She also studies and writes about South Asia (Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan). Pletka is the coeditor of “Dissent and Reform in the Arab World: Empowering Democrats” (AEI Press, 2008) and the coauthor of “Containing and deterring a nuclear Iran” (AEI, 2011) and “Iranian influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan” (AEI, 2012). Her most recent study, “America vs. Iran: The competition for the future of the Middle East,” was published by AEI in January 2014.
