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In The Media

Five Scenarios for the Iranian Crisis

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By George Perkovich
Published on Dec 26, 2006

Source: IFRI

Since August 2005, Iran's campaign to enrich uranium and acquire other technologies and practical experience that would enable it to produce nuclear weapons has gained momentum. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and militant elements in Iran's ruling circle pointedly continue to defy international demands to cease uranium enrichment while the International Atomic Energy Agency's doubts about the peacefulness of Iran's past nuclear activities remain unresolved - according to the IAEA, Iran has not provided adequate cooperation to help resolve these doubts. This obstinate stance, paired with an aggressive posture toward Israel, has heightened Ahmadinejad's popularity in the wider Arab world, including Sunnis. In an unpredicted and quite ironic way, the Persian Ahmadinejad has become an avatar of Arab nationalism. The popularity of Iran's defiant position has, in turn, hardened Iran's resistance to international policy objectives to constrain the nuclear program.

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About the Author

George Perkovich

Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Senior Fellow

George Perkovich is the Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons and a senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program. He works primarily on nuclear deterrence, nonproliferation, and disarmament issues, and is leading a study on nuclear signaling in the 21st century.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    How to Assess Nuclear ‘Threats’ in the Twenty-First Century

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    “A House of Dynamite” Shows Why No Leader Should Have a Nuclear Trigger

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George Perkovich
Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Senior Fellow
George Perkovich
Nuclear PolicyNorth AmericaUnited StatesMiddle EastIranUnited Kingdom

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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