RAND Experts Available on Baghdad Talks on a Nuclear Iran

The May 23 Baghdad talks between Iran and the p5+1 (United States, UK, France, Russia, China, plus Germany) may prove to be a crucial juncture in the Iranian nuclear crisis. RAND experts are available to discuss various aspects of the talks, including:

• How important are these meetings? What could a compromise between Iran and the p5+1 look like?
• How likely would a lack of compromise be to result in an Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities?
• Will Iran's leadership, troubled with economic sanctions, internal instability and international isolation, be amenable to making a compromise?
• Should the U.S. accept an agreement in which Iran releases its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 20 percent, and open suspected nuclear weapons facilities to inspections?
• Is it realistic to expect Iran to completely give up uranium enrichment?

Amb. James Dobbins is director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center and the author of recent commentaries on Iran including "Dissuading Iran from the Bomb and Avoiding War" and "Iran's Self-Destructing Gamble."

Alireza Nader is a senior international policy analyst and Iran specialist, and the lead co-author of "Coping with a Nuclearizing Iran" and the commentary "Is Regime Change in Iran the Only Solution?"

Dalia Dassa Kaye is a senior political scientist focusing on the Middle East who co-authored "Iran's Nuclear Future: Critical U.S. Policy Choices" and the Los Angeles Times commentary, "Israel's Risky Option on Iran."