Chain Reaction

June 9th | Chain Reaction 2026: Iran and Upending the Nuclear Order

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May 1, 2026

 

Thank you for joining Chain Reaction: Iran and Upending the Nuclear Order

 

Chain Reaction: Iran and Upending the Nuclear Order was held on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 from 5-8pm at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco and featured special remarks by Ben Rhodes along with a panel moderated by Dr. Emma Belcher and featuring Dr. Avner Cohen, Dr. Chen Zak Kane, and Sina Toossi.

 

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Overview

Since February 28, the US and Israeli strikes on Iran have reshaped the regional landscape in ways that will take months, if not years, to fully understand. The human cost is serious, the diplomatic path is unclear, and the questions facing policymakers and peacebuilders are urgent.

Ploughshares is uniquely positioned to guide the nuclear field through these crises using lessons learned from our decades of experience and applying strategies to uncover new, longer-lasting solutions to the world’s greatest problem. Together, we can envision a new world order rid of nuclear threats. One where agreements, cooperation, and international standards are upheld.

A series of events so related that each one initiates the next is known as a chain reaction. Every year we gather leaders in our field, devoted partners, and new advocates to generate bold ideas and strategies to advance policies to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons. You—and every new ally you introduce to Ploughshares—represent critical innovators of change.

 

Chain Reaction Speakers

Dr. Emma Belcher

World-renowned expert on nuclear weapons policy, Dr. Emma Belcher is the President of Ploughshares and an authority on the threat of nuclear weapons and the nuances of nuclear weapons policy. Dr. Belcher began her career as a Public Affairs Officer at the Australian Embassy in Washington, DC; served as a national security and international affairs advisor in Australia’s Department of the Prime Minister; and held multiple fellowships at prestigious organizations.
 
 

Ben Rhodes

Ben Rhodes is a national security advisor and consultant. During his tenure as Deputy National Security Advisor in the Obama Administration, Rhodes led the secret negotiations with the Cuban government which resulted in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba and served as an advisor on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. He is the co-hosts the Crooked Media podcast Pod Save the World.

 
 
 

Dr. Chen Zak Kane

Dr. Chen Zak Kane directs the CNS Middle East Nonproliferation Program and heads the Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone Project at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. She founded the Middle East Next Generation Arms Control Network and has held research positions at Harvard’s Belfer Center and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. She has advised the Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism at Tufts University and the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University, and has served as an adjunct professor at the National Defense University. Previously, she worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She holds a PhD and MALD from Tufts University’s Fletcher School, and an MA and BA from Tel Aviv University.

 
 

Dr. Avner Cohen

Trained as a philosopher and historian of ideas, Dr. Cohen turned early on in his career into nuclear history. He is widely known for his path-breaking historical studies of the Israeli nuclear program. He is a two-time winner of the MacArthur Foundation research and writing awards, in 1990 and 2004. He was also a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace in 1997-98 and 2007-08, and a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC in 2008-09. Currently he is a Global Fellow with the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center and a Senior Fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).

 

Sina Toossi

Sina Toossi is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for International Policy focused on U.S.–Iran relations, Middle East geopolitics, nuclear policy, and human rights advocacy. His writing has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, USA Today, and Al Jazeera English, and his analysis has been featured by CNN, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, and other international media outlets. In 2024, he received the Middle East Policy Council’s 40 Under 40 Award. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from American University.

 
 
 

Special thanks to our Chain Reaction Host Committee, the group of sponsors whose generosity make this event possible:

  • Sally Lilienthal Sponsors 
  • Activists

 

For more information about Ploughshares, please contact giving@ploughshares.org.

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