FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jessica Rosenblum, J Street, 202.448.1600 or 202.279.0005 (c), [email protected]
WASHINGTON—J Street Director of Government Affairs Dylan Williams welcomed today’s release of the Iran Project’s report, “Weighing the Benefits and Costs of Military Action against Iran.”
“We applaud the report’s eminent authors and signers for taking this bold step to wrest the debate over dealing with Iran’s nuclear program from the realm of raw politics and return it to sound policymaking. With some in Washington—and beyond—beating the war drums ever louder, this report’s frank, bipartisan analysis comes not a moment too soon.”
Like J Street, the report endorses current United States policy toward Iran’s nuclear program, which it characterizes as “maintaining pressure on Iran while holding open the possibility of reaching a political solution, without ruling out the use of military force.” While recognizing the anticipated benefits of a military strike on Iran, the report also details the severe costs and counterproductive consequences for the US and Israel likely to accompany the use of force. Among these are the increased likelihood of Iran becoming a nuclear state, Iranian strikes and retaliation against the US and Israel, and unification of the Iranian population behind its government.
“This timely report amplifies many of the warnings that American and Israeli security experts have been making for months about the consequences of a military strike against Iran. In parsing a complex problem, it reveals the simple truth that ‘pro-attack’ is not the same as ‘anti-Iranian bomb.’ It should be read and re-read by those who are serious about preventing the US and Israel from ever facing the threat of nuclear-armed Iran.”
J Street believes that Iran obtaining nuclear weapons would pose a very serious threat to American and Israeli interests and to peace and stability in the Middle East and around the world. It lobbies for a combination of tough, targeted sanctions and diplomacy to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
###
Click here to read the Iran Project’s Report, “Weighing the Benefits and Costs of Military Action against Iran.”