Statement on the Comprehensive Nuclear Agreement with Iran

Pugwash Statement on the Comprehensive Nuclear Agreement with Iran reached in Vienna on 14 July 2015

We welcome very much the reaching of an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program. The agreement strengthens the Non Proliferation Treaty, and contributes in important ways to security and stability in the Middle East region.

It shows that there is no alternative to negotiations based on mutual respect, reciprocity and recognition of each other’s security concerns and legal rights. Attempting to “solve” the Iranian nuclear problem by military means would have had gravely negative consequences for the already troubled Middle East and for the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

The negotiations involved the P5 + 1 States, and this meant in particular that constructive cooperation among them, and between them and Iran, was indispensable for solving difficult issues. It also shows that cooperation is also possible between Russia and Western countries. We hope that this cooperation will be extended into other areas.

What is important now is:

a) to ensure constructive, businesslike and comprehensive implementation of the new agreement by all parties, while resisting attempts to derail it

and

b) to take advantage of this diplomatic success to improve as much as possible political, diplomatic, and economic relations with Iran, and to contribute to building trust and improving relations among all States in the Middle Eastern region.

Jayantha Dhanapala, President,
Paolo Cotta Ramusino, Secretary General
Steven Miller, Chair of the Pugwash Executive Committee
Saideh Lotfian, Chair of the Pugwash Council
Li Bin, Member of the Pugwash Executive Committee
Serguei Batsanov, Member of Pugwash Council, Director of Pugwash Geneva Office

Pugwash statement on the comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran [pdf]