September 2019 - Diplomatic opening needed to ease tensions on all sides of Iran nuclear deal

September 9, 2019

Diplomatic opening needed to ease tensions on all sides of Iran nuclear deal

Johns Hopkins SAIS experts discuss challenges and small signs of progress associated with the diplomatic efforts to resolve tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies Narges Bajoghli joined Democracy Now and argued for continuing talks to reduce tensions between Iran and the U.S., otherwise “eventually these tit-for-tats will lead to a very devastating military confrontation in the Middle East.” Watch here

Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs Hal Brands referenced Iran’s political climate while telling Bloomberg TV that Iranian leaders “would need some sort of U.S. concession or European concession prior to entering any negotiation,” related to the Iran nuclear deal. Watch here

In light of Iran's recent announcement that it installed new equipment used to enrich uranium, which breaches the nuclear deal, James Anderson Adjunct Professor of Middle East Studies Sanam Vakil told Monocle 24 The Briefing podcast that Iran is “taking a much more confrontational approach in order to put pressure on the international community, in particular on Europe.” Listen here

Majid Khadduri Professor of Middle East Studies and International Affairs Vali Nasr told Der Spiegel President Trump "says he wants to talk to Iran, but his key national security people don't actually want to implement his policy." Read more

Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies John McLaughlin explained to OZY that the U.S. strategy towards Iran has been in a confusing pattern and that the smartest course forward would be "to hold in place and take any opportunity to start talking — at any level, not just Trump's.” Read more

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