Center for Middle East Policy
Spotlight: Debating the Iran Nuclear Deal
Brookings experts examine what’s at stake—for the United States, Europe, Iran, and the Middle East more broadly—regarding the Iran nuclear deal, debate the agreement’s merits, and offer recommendations as to the deal’s future.
Eric Rosand
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for Middle East Policy, U.S. Relations with the Islamic World
Bruce Riedel
Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, Center for Middle East Policy
Director - The Intelligence Project
Suzanne Maloney
Deputy Director - Foreign Policy
Senior Fellow - Center for Middle East Policy, Energy Security and Climate Initiative
The Iranians have a more complex political environment than North Korea. It’s relatively easy for Kim Jong-un to turn on a dime and take advantage of an opportunity; it’s much harder for them to turn on a dime.
Iran, Ms. Maloney noted, reacted relatively calmly to Mr. Trump’s tweet. The country’s leaders, she said, believe that the president is trying to bait them to breach the nuclear deal, which they do not want to do. But his threats are rattling the Iranians, who worry that Mr. Trump’s aides might goad him into a confrontation.
“This is moving quickly,” she said, “and the president has an establishment around him that seems eager for some kind of dust-up with Iran.”
