Daniel Poneman warns against military solutions to nuclear threats
The current international security environment is extremely dangerous, while attempts to resolve nuclear challenges through military means carry serious risks and uncertainty, said Daniel Poneman, a lawyer and former Acting United States Secretary of Energy, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Commenting on rising geopolitical tensions, Daniel Poneman cautioned against making predictions about possible military scenarios, stressing that major land wars have historically led to unpredictable consequences.
“There are always kinetic options to take out a nuclear weapons program, as we have seen, but those are also very dangerous options and they are not guaranteed to succeed. Sometimes, through diplomatic negotiations you are able to secure a country’s nuclear capacity and constrain it in ways that provide confidence to the international community, subject to International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. That has to be our aspiration,” Poneman said.
He underlined the importance of effective safeguards carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency, noting that such mechanisms can help prevent the misuse of nuclear materials and reduce the risk of escalation.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Iran and the United States are set to hold nuclear talks in Oman amid rising tensions.
