IRAN
Iranian foreign minister blames West for snag in nuclear talks
Marcus George and Jon Hemming, Reuters – November 12, 2013
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif cites splits between the P5+1 countries as the reason for why no agreement was made between the P5+1 and Iran on the weekend. The Foreign Minister’s comments come after US Secretary of State John Kerry blamed Iran for the failure to reach an agreement.
Senate will wait before moving on Iran sanctions: aides
Patricia Zengerle and Matt Spetalnick, Reuters – November 11, 2013
The senators planning to enact new sanctions against Iran have said that they will only make a decision on the matter after Secretary of State John Kerry briefs them on Wednesday. The group expects Secretary Kerry to explain why the P5+1 talks with Iran held over the weekend failed to produce an agreement.
Iran Nuclear Talks: Unfinished, but Alive
The Editorial Board, The New York Times – November 11, 2013
The lack of agreement following the P5+1 talks over the weekend was disappointing. However, everyone needs to realize that diplomacy takes time and, in this particular case, that there is no alternative policy that has the potential to produce the ‘best deal possible’.
Russia denies Iran to blame for nuclear talks failure
AFP – November 12, 2013
Russia has denied claims that Iran was to blame for the lack of an agreement following the P5+1 talks between Western powers and Iran over the weekend. Instead, disunity among the P5+1 was to blame. The latter claim goes directly against Secretary Kerry’s claim of P5+1 unity and a lack of cooperation on the part of Iran.
MIDDLE EAST
Arab League Backs Steps Toward Banning Mideast WMDs
Elaine M. Grossman
Global Security Newswire – November 11, 2013
The Arab League has agreed to support an Egyptian plan outlining how the League’s member states could achieve a decades old ambition of a regional WMD-free zone. It remains unclear as to whether all of the members states had agreed to every single proposal within the Egyptian plan.
NORTH KOREA
South Korean Diplomat to Travel to China for Talks on North Korea
Global Security Newswire – November 11, 2013
Cho Tae-Young, South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator, will travel to China in the next few days to discuss the current standstill over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program with his Chinese counterpart. The trip comes a week after Mr. Tae-Young visited Washington for talks between the US and Japan concerning the three countries’ unified stance towards the North Korean nuclear issue.
CHINA
US Report: 1st Sub-launched Nuke Missile Among China’s Recent Strides
Wendell Minnick, Defense News – November 11, 2013
The congressional US-China Economic Review Commission claims that China’s JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile will reach initial operational capability (IOC) later this year. The missile, which has a range of 4,000 nautical miles, will be China’s first credible submarine-based nuclear deterrent capable of striking the US mainland.
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS
Industry asked for technologies to detect and counter chemical and biological weapons
John Keller, Military and Aerospace Electronics – November 12, 2013
Researchers from the US Department of Defense are asking industry experts to nominate modern technologies capable of predicting, detecting and countering an array of different chemical and biological weapons.
