Conducted by AIC Outreach Coordinator Kayvan Vakili

Kayvan Vakili: In your testimony you said you are an “unenthusiastic supporter” of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Can you expand on that?

Dr. Ken Pollack: Sure. I think that the deal will impose some meaningful constraints on the Iranian nuclear program for at least the first 10, arguably 15 years. I think it has some very important critical issues in terms of ultimately giving the United States control over whether sanctions get reimposed and what the inspectors can see; all these things are important to it. And I think that it does ultimately create enough disincentives in Iran that it seems unlikely that the Iranians will cheat in some meaningful way on the agreement. As a result, I look at the deal and I say that I think that US interests will be better served by having the deal than by not having the deal.