Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney outlines his strategy toward Iran in this Washington Post piece.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland gave this statement on February 29, 2012 regarding U.S.-North Korea bilateral talks and North Korea's agreement to implement a moratorium on nuclear activities including uranium enrichment.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published their updated report on the "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran" on February 24, 2012. The report updates the nuclear situation in Iran since the last report of November 2011. Among its findings: "The Agency continues to have serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme".

Richard N. Haass and Michael A. Levi say it is in the American interest to pursue a negotiated outcome to the current impasse with Iran because the main alternatives to diplomacy—war or the existence of an Iran with nuclear weapons—will be costly and risky.

Ray Takeyh examines the roots of Iran's desire to advance its nuclear program.

The United States will "increasingly seek partnerships with other like-minded countries [in the region] to ensure global stability, security, and prosperity." In a new volume of collected essays, CFR Senior Fellow Scott Snyder writes that one of the strongest partners for the United States is South Korea.

The 2009 Statement of Principles of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism are, according the U.S. Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, "a set of broad nuclear security goals that encompass a range of deterrence, detection, prevention, and response objectives. The eight principles contained within the SOP aim to develop partnership capacity to combat nuclear terrorism, consistent with national legal authorities and obligations as well as relevant international legal frameworks such as the Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, and United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1373 and 1540".

The extraordinary risks posed by a nuclear-armed Iran require Washington and its partners to step up activity on economic sanctions and diplomacy, even while preparing military options, says CFR President Richard N. Haass.

Richard N. Haass argues that Iran's nuclear program may be the most important international issue in 2012.

The European Union's embargo on Iranian oil may bring Iran to the negotiating table but is unlikely to halt its controversial nuclear program, says CFR's Matthew Kroenig.

The EU's oil embargo is part of a larger Western effort to pressure Iran to reengage over its disputed nuclear program, but some debate the merits of intensified diplomacy with the regime in Tehran.

CFR Senior Fellows Ray Takeyh and Matthew Kroenig discuss the escalating tension with Iran and the challenges it poses for US strategy in this Council on Foreign Relations Special Briefing.

Leslie H. Gelb discusses the need to examine the rationale for, and potential consequences of, going to war with Iran.

Ray Takeyh says Iran's recent aggression is based on Tehran diligently pursuing a three-track policy that involves provocation of the international community and making noises about diplomacy as it relentlessly marches toward the bomb.

The latest revelations over Iran's uranium enrichment activities have triggered debate over a slew of policy options from more sanctions to preventive strikes.

Micah Zenko and Emma Welch argue that while the Republican presidential candidates overwhelmingly describe the prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapons capability as "unacceptable" and endorse the use of military force if that were necessary to prevent an Iranian bomb, there is a complete absence of any details on how the use of force could accomplish this ambitious objective.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave this statement on January 10, 2012 regarding Iran's enrichment program at the Qom facility.

Sanctions over Iran's nuclear program have triggered threats involving the strategic Strait of Hormuz and new debate over the methods chosen to pressure Tehran.

Captain Bradley S. Russell, USN and Max Boot argue that Iran must realize that by initiating direct hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, it risks American retaliation against their covert nuclear-weapons program.

Frank G. Klotz argues that both India and Pakistan have an interest in taking steps to enhance strategic stability in the region and to reduce the possibility of nuclear conflict resulting from miscalculation or deliberate escalation in a crisis.