Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Center for International Security and Cooperation Stanford University


CISAC News



August 17, 2012

Deciphering the National Intelligence Estimates on Iran's nuclear program

Op-ed: Foreign Policy on August 15, 2012

CISAC Affiliate Jeffrey Lewis, founder of the blog ArmsControlWonk.com, explains that journalists and foreign policy elites have misunderstood the National Intelligence Estimates on Iran's nuclear program, particularly the 2007 report, which claimed that Iran halted its covert nuclear weapons program in 2003. Lewis spoke with FSI's Tom Fingar, who explained that the report intended to signal that Tehran is sensitive to international pressure, and that it could restart the nuclear weapons program at a later date.