Washington D.C. – Today marks ten years since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed, representing one of the most significant diplomatic achievements in recent U.S. history. On this anniversary, we reflect not only on the promise of that agreement, but on the tragic consequences of abandoning it.
A decade ago, President Obama laid out the stakes clearly: the United States could choose diplomacy or war with Iran. The JCPOA was a bold bet on diplomacy, and it worked until it was abandoned. The deal imposed strict limits and verification on Iran’s nuclear program and opened the door to de-escalation.
Yet from the moment the deal was struck, opponents of diplomacy mobilized to tear it down. Despite claiming war was never on the table, they worked tirelessly to sabotage the agreement and vilify those who supported it. These efforts – cynical, calculated, and deeply harmful – laid the groundwork for the war that erupted last month.
Now, the consequences are painfully clear. Hundreds of Iranian civilians, including women and children, are dead following brutal, indiscriminate airstrikes across Iran. In Israel, retaliatory strikes by Iran killed dozens and wounded thousands. As many have warned, military strikes were not a solution for the security challenges posed by Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is no longer monitored after international monitors have been barred from Iran’s bombed nuclear facilities, and there are widespread expectations that there could be more strikes and a wider, catastrophic war.
This war was not inevitable. It was made possible by a series of wrong decisions and deliberate attacks on a deal that prevented exactly this outcome. The same dynamic threatens to repeat itself if our leaders do not act with urgency to solidify the ceasefire and restore a diplomatic track.
Peace is a choice. We choose diplomacy, not catastrophe, and we will continue to fight to ensure that our nation’s leaders do the same.
