‘Containment’ Not a Dirty Word When it Comes to Managing Iran

President Obama has insisted that “containing” a nuclear Iran is not an option. Anything less has come to be viewed as appeasement. But containment has been US policy toward Iran for the past 33 years and is likely to continue to be for the foreseeable future, especially if negotiations due to resume in May fail and Iran actually builds nuclear weapons.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the audience during a conference at the University of Havana January 11, 2012. Ahmadinejad arrived in Havana on Wednesday for a one-day visit amid heightened international tensions after an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in a Tehran car bombing. REUTERS/Enrique De La Osa (CUBA - Tags: POLITICS)
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the audience during a conference at the University of Havana January 11, 2012 - REUTERS/Enrique de la Osa
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Barbara Slavin
@BarbaraSlavin1

In recent months, as the debate over Iran’s nuclear program has become increasingly heated, US President Obama and other senior officials have insisted that “containing” Iran is not an option.

Indeed, Obama assured Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in March that his policy was “prevention,” even if that required using military force.

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