Richard Nephew
Foreign Affairs
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Richard:
The Use and Misuse of Economic Statecraft
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and former State Department Principal Deputy Coordinator for Sanctions Policy Richard Nephew argue that since the end of the Cold War, the United States’ use of unilateral economic policy, particularly sanctions, has threatened to alienate other countries and undermine U.S. power. Under President Donald Trump, that threat has become a reality. → Read More
Richard Nephew
Richard Nephew was the lead sanctions expert for the U.S. team negotiating with Iran. He is now a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. → Read More
To deal with North Korea, Trump needs a 'crash course in the art of sanctions'
For North Korea sanctions to work, the Trump administration must answer these critical questions, says Richard Nephew. → Read More
Richard Nephew
Richard Nephew was the lead sanctions expert for the U.S. team negotiating with Iran. He is now a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. → Read More
How the U.S. Can Deal With Iran's Ballistic Missile Program
Only when Tehran is convinced that its security could be guaranteed regardless of its ballistic missiles will it consider fundamental changes to its missile program. → Read More
Preventing Iranian nuclear weapons work
The associated provisions of the JCPOA give the IAEA the ability to demand access where evidence of Iranian cheating is found, with a lower burden of proof of illicit nuclear intent, and the threat of sanctions snap-back gives Iran motivation to comply with access requests. → Read More
Philip Gordon
Philip Gordon was special assistant to the president and White House coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Region. He is now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and senior adviser at the Albright Stonebridge Group. → Read More
Will Trump recertify Iran? Much hangs in the balance
Within two months, Donald Trump will have to make one of the most important decisions of his presidency: whether to continue certifying Iranian compliance with the nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and six world powers in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. So far, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the US intelligence community, and intelligence… → Read More
Two Years on, the Iran Deal is Working
Two Years on, the Iran Deal is Working By Philip Gordon and Richard Nephew 1:15 PM ET Today, the Iran nuclear deal turns two years old. In its critics’ eyes, it has already failed. President Donald Trump and many of his supporters complain that it has not changed Iran’s regional behavior, pointing to Tehran’s continued support for regional proxies and ongoing ballistic missile tests as proof.… → Read More
Two Years on, the Iran Deal is Working
It is true that Tehran’s behavior in the region has not improved, but the agreement has kept the regime from going nuclear. → Read More
Two Years on, the Iran Deal is Working
It is true that Tehran’s behavior in the region has not improved, but the agreement has kept the regime from going nuclear. → Read More
Why the North Korea nuclear agreement is not a precedent for Iran
Both the JCPOA and the Agreed Framework were designed to curb a nation’s nuclear program, but the agreements differ profoundly in scope and effects, targeting distinctly dissimilar countries and circumstances. → Read More
A nuclear weapons ban should first do no harm to the NPT
Though substantial progress has been made since the end of the Cold War in the dismantlement of US and Russian-held nuclear weapons, non-nuclear weapon states have become frustrated with the pace of disarmament. Two years ago, several states launched a new process that would delegitimize nuclear weapons by declaring a ban on their possession and use. → Read More
Devil in the details? Why the latest IAEA report kerfuffle is overblown
Since the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) latest report on Iran’s nuclear program leaked out of its restricted channels on February 26, there has been a steady expression of dissatisfaction, and even alarm, at the relative lack of detail contained in the report. → Read More
What the nuclear deal means for moderates in Iranian politics
Iran’s parliamentary elections are two weeks away and the question surrounding them in the West is whether Iranian president Rouhani’s reform-leaning compatriots will be able to take advantage of the nuclear deal to strengthen its political positioning in Tehran. After all, some suggest, isn’t this what the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the United States, its P5+1… → Read More
Countering misconceptions about sanctions "snapback"
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is a much misunderstood document, and the concept of sanctions "snapback" is no exception. Richard Nephew offers a detailed analysis of common misconceptions about the sanctions relief provisions in the Iran nuclear deal, arguing that criticisms of the agreement do not factor in the consequences for Iran in a withdrawal from the deal. → Read More
Sanctions served their intended purpose: resolving the Iran nuclear issue
Richard Nephew explains the sanctions relief that Iran will receive under the terms of the nuclear agreement finalized in Vienna earlier this month. He argues that the sanctions on Iran were used by negotiators as they were always intended — as a means of achieving a resolution to international concerns about Iran's nuclear program. → Read More
Deal or no deal? Congress really must choose
The nuclear agreement reached last week by the P5+1 and Iran is prompting a mix of reactions, and Richard Nephew argues that Congressional leadership must step up and decide if the alternative to the final Iran nuclear deal is worth it. → Read More
Based on breakout timelines, the world is better off with the Iran nuclear deal than without it
Richard Nephew writes that the breakout timeline is not the sole measure of an Iran nuclear deal. But, he argues that compared to the status quo, we are far better off with the deal than without it. → Read More
Iranian breakout timelines in a comprehensive deal
Whether the possibility of a rapid Iranian nuclear breakout with one bomb’s worth of nuclear material is realistic, Richard Nephew writes that it is the metric of merit in today’s debate. Nephew argues that a deal along the lines of what was outlined by the U.S. Factsheet on April 2, 2015, is technically feasible and a material improvement over the status quo— and… → Read More