On 27-28 November, the IISS held the second workshop in its two-year programme ‘Building a Common Approach to the Iranian Nuclear Problem’, which is jointly directed by Mark Fitzpatrick and Dr Dana Allin and supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
The workshop was hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations at its headquarters in New York City, and was designed to evaluate policy options available to the transatlantic allies and the UN Security Council in the context of the many developments in the Iranian nuclear crisis and the broader Middle East since the last IISS event at Arundel House in June. The workshop brought together around forty experts on the Iranian nuclear problem from the United States, Western Europe, China and Russia.
Topics in the five panels included: American strategic thought after the mid-term elections and the prospect of U.S. ‘engagement’ with Iran; the impact of internal Iranian politics on nuclear negotiations; the practicality of potential technical solutions; the scope, nature and utility of sanctions; and the implications of the recent Lebanese war for any future efforts by the P5 +1 and Israel to counter growing Iranian influence in the Middle East. The productive workshop stimulated a vibrant exchange of perspectives on the Iranian nuclear problem.
