Tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East a week after Israel launched an aggressive military campaign with the stated aim of destroying Iran’s nuclear weapons program. President Trump has expressed hope that Israel’s military campaign will make Tehran more likely to accept a deal, “but chances are good that Israel’s attack on Iran will not have the effect that Trump hopes,” NTI’s Eric Brewer wrote in an op-ed for Foreign Policy . “If Iran believes that there are no restraints on Israel’s violence, then it has little incentive to make a deal” and instead could opt for the bomb.
While Israel’s military campaign has effectively devastated some aspects of the country’s nuclear weapons program, Fordow, Iran’s deeply buried and most fortified fuel enrichment site, remains largely intact. “Before this, standard thinking was that Iran could produce enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb in less than a week,” Brewer told The Washington Post. “If Fordow is still operating, if the materials stored there are still intact, that timeline hasn’t changed.” In interviews with CNN and PBS News Hour, NTI Co-Chair and CEO Ernest J. Moniz commented on Iran’s remaining ability to create and deliver a nuclear weapon after the attacks. “Given the material they have, they could pretty easily covertly develop and put together a crude weapon,” he said. But how would they deliver that weapon? “I think that's a bigger challenge for Iran.”
Other NTI experts addressed contamination concerns stemming from Israel’s military campaign. NTI’s Scott Roecker explained to CNN and The Wall Street Journal why, despite Israeli strikes, “there isn’t a major radiation dispersal risk at Fordow.” On the other hand, if Israel begins to target Iran’s operating nuclear power plants, there could be serious radioactive contamination risks, NTI’s Nickolas Roth warned in an interview with The Washington Post.
Overall, “the trajectory of the conflict appears bleak,” Brewer wrote in Foreign Policy. “I don't believe you can completely dismantle the nuclear program through military means,” Roecker told The New York Times. “I think you need to negotiate a deal, with transparency and monitoring and verification, in order to fully address a nuclear program. It is the most effective way to repurpose that facility.” In a statement following the first round of strikes, NTI urged all parties to stand down from further military escalation and return to diplomatic discussions between the United States, Iran, and other stakeholders.
Help Build a Safer World
Every day, NTI works to protect our lives, livelihoods, environment, and quality of life from the risks posed by weapons of mass destruction and disruption, now and for future generations.
In an op-ed for The National Interest, NTI Co-Chair and CEO Ernest J. Moniz, wrote that President Trump’s executive orders aim to boost nuclear energy but risk undermining progress by ignoring challenges, such as cost, safety, and nonproliferation.
NTI’s Paul Dean focused on the need for all countries to demand concrete steps to address nuclear dangers in an interview with Truthout.
Ahead of Israel’s strikes on Iran, NTI’s Eric Brewer spoke withThe Asia Live and warned that military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities would likely only delay, not stop, Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
NTI consultant Ravi Garla emphasized that nuclear weapons issues must be made tangible and local to inspire public engagement in an interview with Inkstick.
El País published a feature on Michael Douglas that highlights his work with NTI to promote nuclear disarmament.
NTI’s interview with Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, was cited in a review of First We Bombed New Mexico, a new documentary about the impact of Cordova’s advocacy for nuclear justice.
An article from The Washington Institute spotlights NTI and Warren Buffett’s roles in advancing the creation of the IAEA-managed international low-enriched uranium bank in Kazakhstan.
No comments:
Post a Comment