Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran, and the Nuclear Question | Sina Azodi
The Middle East Policy Forum and the Elliott School Book Launch Series are proud to host Professor Sina Azodi as he debuts his new book, Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran and the Nuclear Question.
Iran’s nuclear program remains one of the most contentious issues of modern international politics. This book is the first to trace the evolution of Iran’s nuclear program in the broader context of its relationship with the United States, from the early days of total US support in the 1950s to the staunch opposition that followed the Iranian revolution, and its reconstitution.
The account covers the pivotal moments including initial meetings to pursue uranium enrichment in Iran, key internal debates, the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Donald Trump’s controversial withdrawal and the latest efforts to revive the agreement. The book shows that because the strategic logic of the nuclear program transcends the regime type, dismantling the Iranian nuclear program is not a viable policy option for the United States. Instead, the United States must learn to live with a nuclear threshold state and make it a priority to keep Iranian capacity as distant from weaponization as possible.
The research is based on American declassified documents and often marginalized Iranian primary sources including political memoirs, diplomatic correspondences, oral histories from Iranian nuclear officials, and exclusive one-on-one interviews with Iranian scientists and national security officials. The account and its findings have important implications for both scholars of nuclear non-proliferation and for policymakers.
All are invited to hear from Sina Azodi and to celebrate the release of his work. This event is open to the general public and media. For those who are interested in purchasing Iran and the Bomb, copies will be available for sale at the event.
Speaker
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Dr. Sina Azodi research interests include international security, nuclear nonproliferation, Iranian politics and U.S.-Iranian relations. He previously worked as a research assistant at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Dr. Azodi is a frequent commentator on both English- and Persian-speaking media, including BBC, Sky News, Al-Jazeera, TRT World, and i24. His analyses have appeared in Columbia University’s Journal of International Affairs, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Arms Control Association, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Foreign Policy, and has been quoted by the New York Times, Washington Post, Spiegel, and Forbes. Dr. Azodi has published the chapter “The Fusion of Politics and Religion in Iran” in the edited book Political Islam in the Gulf Region. He is the author of forthcoming book "Iran and the Bomb: the United States, Iran and the Nuclear Question." He earned his BA and MA in international affairs from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University, and PhD from University of South Florida.
