The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) hosted a policy debate on the prospects for containing a nuclear weapons-capable Iran. Michael Makovsky, Foreign Policy Director at the BPC, gave introductory remarks at the event. The debate featured Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations and former Deputy National Security Advisor.

The debate was moderated by The Washington Post's Jackson Diehl.

This timely debate considered whether containment is a viable alternative to a strategy of convincing Iran to halt its uranium enrichment. The debate was part of the BPC’s National Security Project Iran Initiative series co-chaired by Senators Daniel Coats and Charles Robb, and General (ret.) Chuck Wald. The purpose of the debate was to inform both the policy community and the project co-chairs in developing their final recommendations for NSP’s third report on Iran, “When Time Runs Out,” to be released in late June.

Iran Initiative, National Security Project