Today marks the launch of Diplomacy Works, a new project dedicated to upholding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — also known as the Iran nuclear deal — which blocked Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon. Before the JCPOA, Iran was only two or three months away from having enough fissile material to build a nuclear weapon. The agreement rolled back Iran’s efforts immediately and provides tough new verification processes through which the IAEA can confirm compliance.
Diplomacy Works will support this keystone nonproliferation agreement by providing up to date information and analysis about the JCPOA, its implementation, and Congressional or Administration actions that affect its viability. We want to enable stakeholders to speak up for the deal with the facts.
Recent polling confirms that Americans increasingly support this diplomatic solution to what would otherwise be a serious threat to international security, yet questions remain about whether the U.S. Congress and the new Administration will keep our end of the bargain. Diplomacy Works will counter dangerous and misleading rhetoric that could both result in damage to this global diplomatic commitment and have implications for American credibility and deterrence capabilities around the world.
If the U.S. were to pull out of the JCPOA, we would be doing so alone. Absent a clear violation of the agreement by Iran, our partners in the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany) who helped negotiate the Iran deal would be unlikely to reimpose their own sanctions, without which American sanctions lose most of their impact. We would have no platform from which to address our concerns about Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism or poor human rights record, and no leverage with which to bring Iran back to the negotiating table to pursue a mythical “better deal.” The U.S. would be in a much worse strategic position than before.
Diplomacy Works was created to promote U.S. national security by supporting dialogue and cooperation and holding our policymakers accountable for keeping America’s word to the international community. The stakes are high; we are at risk of forfeiting our international leadership role. And if we no longer lead, we erode our capacity to keep ourselves and our allies and partners safe. The goal of Diplomacy Works is to ensure that the diplomatic gains of the past are built upon, rather than squandered, which will be essential to a secure and prosperous future.
For more about Diplomacy Works, read our launch statement here.