Paper
James M. Acton, Ankit Panda
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Source: Getty
In The Media
Iran Deal: Not Perfect, But Better Than Nothing
The recent nuclear deal between Iran, the United States, China, Russia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom is better than existing alternatives.
Published on Jul 14, 2015
Source: CNBC
Carnegie’s James Acton talked to CNBC about why Tuesday’s nuclear deal with Iran is better than existing alternatives. Acton argued that the agreement has very stringent limits on Iran’s nuclear activities lasting between ten and twenty-five years, as well as some very stringent verification provisions to detect cheating.
“It’s not a perfect deal, but the result I believe is better than any of the reasonably achievable alternatives at this point,” Acton said.
Acton added that it would be very hard to undo the deal and that that is “a good thing.” Responding to criticisms of the deal, Acton pointed out that the Soviet Union lied and yet the United States successfully did arms control with the USSR.
“This idea that the Iran deal is somehow based on trusting Iran is simply wrong. There are stringent verification provisions associated with this deal,” Acton said.
About the Author
James M. Acton
Jessica T. Mathews Chair, Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program
Acton holds the Jessica T. Mathews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
- Nuclear Weapons and the Future of American Power
- The Latest Iran Deal Ignores the Lessons of the PastCommentary
James M. Acton
Recent Work
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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