Nuclear Experts Endorse Iran Nuclear Agreement In Open Letter
. . . On Monday, 30 top nuclear nonproliferation experts took sides in the debate by issuing a joint statement that strongly endorsed the agreement.
Describing the framework as a "vitally important step forward," the statement breaks down the positive aspects of the proposed deal from a security and nonproliferation standpoint.
The statement's authors claim that among other benefits, the deal will:
- significantly reduce Iran's capacity to enrich uranium to the point that it would take at least 12 months to amass enough uranium enriched to weapons grade for one bomb;
- require Iran to modify its Arak heavy water reactor to meaningfully reduce its proliferation potential and bar Iran from developing any capability for separating plutonium from spent fuel for weapons;
- put in place enhanced international inspections and monitoring that would help to deter Iran from attempting to violate the agreement, but if Iran did, increase the international community's ability to detect promptly and, if necessary, disrupt future efforts by Iran to build nuclear weapons, including at potential undeclared sites; and
- require Iran to cooperate with the IAEA to conclude the investigation of Iran's past efforts to develop a nuclear warhead and provide transparency sufficient to help ensure that any such effort remains in abeyance.
The statement also contains a line that directly contradicts one of the talking points of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claimed over the weekend on NBC's "Meet The Press" that a deal "would spark an arms race among the Sunni states, a nuclear arms race in the Middle East."
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