President Obama spent more than three years engaging with Iran in order to bring an end to the regime’s pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability. But the administration’s approach has emboldened rather than halted the Iranian quest. Although the latest round of sanctions are beginning to impair Iran’s economy, they have come far too late to have any determining effect on Iran’s decision-making.
The Jewish Policy Center is pleased to offer this edition of inFOCUS Quarterly on the urgent threat from Iran. Going beyond the nuclear issue, Nina Shea, Director of Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, takes stock of the human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime. Looking inward, Helle Dale, the Heritage Foundation’s Senior Fellow in Public Diplomacy studies, explores America’s problems with reaching the Iranian people through broadcast media, while Stephen Bryen, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, explains how the West has actually contributed to Iran’s internal spying capabilities and procurement of centrifuges. In a candid article, Nikolay Kozhanov, a former attaché at the Russian embassy in Tehran, provides a Russian perspective, describing the various factors that inform Moscow’s approach to Iran’s nuclear file.
Don’t miss our roundtable discussion with a panel of leading experts. We ask Ilan Berman, Jamie Fly, Michael Ledeen, and Alex Vatanka the most pressing questions about the situation with Iran. Their sobering assessments should serve as a wake-up call to those who believe the question of Iran’s nuclear program can remain on America’s backburner.
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Sincerely,
Matthew Brooks
Executive Director
