Issue Briefs
Original analysis by FAS experts are available as free PDF downloads. These reports provide nonpartisan research for policymakers, government officials, academics, and the general public.
2010 July 22 - Will Iran Give Up Twenty Percent Enrichment?
Since February, Iran has been enriching uranium to concentrations of 20 percent U-235. A stockpile of 130 kg of 20 percent enriched uranium would reduce, by more than half, Iran's time to develop a bomb. A key unknown is whether Tehran will stop the higher enrichment and, if so, under what circumstances. Read the FAS Issue Brief (PDF).
2010 April 29 - Recommendations for the U.S. Delegation to the NPT Review Conference
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has endured as the cornerstone of the non-proliferation regime and remains the only legally binding multilateral agreement on nuclear disarmament. During May 3-28, 2010, the NPT Review Conference will meet at the United Nations in New York and will provide the U.S. a critical opportunity to advance the vision President Obama laid out in Prague of a world free of nuclear weapons. Read more here.
2010 April 16 - The Twenty Percent Solution: Breaking the Iranian Stalemate
President Obama’s deadline to address concerns about Tehran's nuclear program passed at the end of 2009, so the White House is moving to harsher sanctions. But the U.S. is having trouble rallying the needed international support because Iranian intentions remain ambiguous. The deadlock includes negotiations on fueling Iran’s medical isotope reactor. Read the report here (PDF)
2010 January 8 - Eight Recommendations for Improving Transparency in US Arms Transfers
Transparency is essential for effective congressional and public oversight of arms exports. Without complete and accurate data on the quantity, type and recipients of exported defense articles and services, it is impossible to assess the extent to which arms transfers further national security and foreign policy. The US is widely recognized as one of the most transparent arms exporting countries in the world, and rightly so; few governments routinely publish as much data on arms transfers as the US government. Read more expert analysis here (PDF).
2009 December 2 - Calculating the Capacity at Fordow
FAS experts conclude that while the construction and the announcement of Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), just north of Qom, do not prove an intention to deceive the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it raises troubling questions. The facility is too small for a commercial enrichment facility, raising concerns that it might be intended as a covert facility to produce highly enriched uranium (HEU) for weapons. Read more expert analysis here (PDF).
