The US-Iran standoff

The US decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has created an increasingly tense situation throughout the Middle East. A “maximum pressure” campaign from the US has led to Iranian countermeasures. The US is now demanding that Iran enter new negotiations on its nuclear program, its ballistic missile program, and a host of activities that US officials contend undermine peace across the Middle East, but Iran has declined.

Still, neither country seems eager to begin a war. So what comes next? Experts from around the world weigh in on how, realistically speaking, the US-Iran impasse might be broken.

Start with the full collection, or dive into the individual analyses below:

Never waste a good crisis
Chuck Freilich

Three steps toward resolving Iran’s nuclear crisis
Seyed Hossein Mousavian

Restarting negotiations with Iran
Lawrence J. Korb

US-Iran: avoiding military confrontation
Emily B. Landau

Steps back from the brink at the Strait of Hormuz
Robert J. Goldston and Frank N. von Hippel

Still curious? Explore further analysis on the JCPOA in our special collection “The Iranian Problem,” and read why some think there’s a real possibility of US nuclear weapons use in “A nuclear war in the Persian Gulf?”