--- title: Iran Nuclear Deal: 29 Scientists Write Letter in Support description: "This is an innovative agreement." canonical: https://time.com/3990001/29-scientists-obama-iran-nuclear-deal/ author: Tanya Basu article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-09T18:25:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:13.372Z article:section: Politics og:title: 29 Scientists Publicly Support Obama's Iran Nuclear Deal og:description: "This is an innovative agreement, og:url: https://time.com/3990001/29-scientists-obama-iran-nuclear-deal/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt447a813911298ac1/69885e7035ba6f736dc0e900/obama-iran1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Obama Speaks Iran Nuclear Deal og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 29 Scientists Publicly Support Obama's Iran Nuclear Deal twitter:description: "This is an innovative agreement, twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt447a813911298ac1/69885e7035ba6f736dc0e900/obama-iran1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 29 Leading Scientists Back Obama on Iran Nuclear Deal ## Video: 2016 Candidates Speak Out On The Iran Deal [Watch (HLS stream): 2016 Candidates Speak Out On The Iran Deal](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/k9oXHx6b.m3u8) (3:00)  _Published 2015-07-15. 2016 Candidates Speak Out On The Iran Deal_  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Aug 9, 2015 6:25 PM UTC  United States President Barack Obama addresses American University's School of International Service in Washington on Aug. 5, 2015. United States President Barack Obama addresses American University's School of International Service in Washington on Aug. 5, 2015.Pete Marovich—AP  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Aug 9, 2015 6:25 PM UTC Twenty-nine of America’s leading scientists—from Nobel Prize winners to nuclear experts—co-signed a [letter](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/08/08/world/document-iranletteraug2015.html) supporting President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal on Saturday. “We consider that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) the United States and its partners negotiated with Iran will advance the cause of peace and security in the Middle East and can serve as a guidepost for future non-proliferation agreements,” the letter said. It went on: “This is an innovative agreement, with much more stringent constraints than any previously negotiated non-proliferation framework.” The support from the scientific community comes at a critical juncture for Obama, who is facing criticism not only from the Republican party, but from also from fellow Democrats. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D.—N.Y.), a leading Democrat in Congress published a piece on [_Medium_](https://medium.com/@SenSchumer/my-position-on-the-iran-deal-e976b2f13478) Thursday night explaining why he was against the Iran nuclear deal. The scientists’ letter addressed fears that the deal was weak and gave in to much to Iranian demands. “Concerns about clandestine activities in Iran are greatly mitigated by the dispute resolution mechanism built into the agreement,” the letter said. “The 24-day cap on any delay to access is unprecedented, and it will allow effective challenge inspection for the suspected activities of greatest concern.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3990001/29-scientists-obama-iran-nuclear-deal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3990001/29-scientists-obama-iran-nuclear-deal/"},"headline":"29 Leading Scientists Back Obama on Iran Nuclear Deal","datePublished":"2015-08-09T18:25:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:58:13.372Z","description":"\"This is an innovative agreement\"","url":"https://time.com/3990001/29-scientists-obama-iran-nuclear-deal/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","Iran","Obama","democrat","National Security","intelligence","Republican","iran nuclear deal"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt447a813911298ac1/69885e7035ba6f736dc0e900/obama-iran1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tanya Basu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt447a813911298ac1/69885e7035ba6f736dc0e900/obama-iran1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Obama Speaks Iran Nuclear Deal","caption":"Obama Speaks Iran Nuclear Deal","creditText":"Pete Marovich—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-policy/","name":"Foreign Policy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3990001/29-scientists-obama-iran-nuclear-deal/","name":"29 Leading Scientists Back Obama on Iran Nuclear Deal"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"2016 Candidates Speak Out On The Iran Deal","description":"2016 Candidates Speak Out On The Iran Deal","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/k9oXHx6b/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-15T22:22:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/k9oXHx6b.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3990001/29-scientists-obama-iran-nuclear-deal/","duration":"PT3M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3990001/29-scientists-obama-iran-nuclear-deal/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```