IRAN
No ‘Suckers’: US Threatens Iran With New Sanctions
Bradley Klapper and Matthew Lee, Associated Press – October 3, 2013
Wendy Sherman, the Obama administration’s chief nuclear negotiator, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday that the US would be prepared to offer limited sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for real progress on its enrichment program. If Iran fails to do this, the US would be prepared to support new sanctions against the Islamic republic.
What an Iran Deal Would Look Like
Fareed Zakaria, TIME Magazine – October 4, 2013
The US should not expect a rapprochement between itself and Iran comparable to the rapprochement between itself and China over forty years ago. Nevertheless, a deal with Iran over its enrichment program is possible and worth pursuing.
State official says shutdown hampering Iran pressure
Tanvi Misra, USA Today – October 3, 2013
A State Department official told Senators on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the current government shutdown is hampering the ability of the US to maintain pressure Iran’s nuclear program. The programs within the government designed maintain this pressure have been “completely, virtually, utterly depleted” as a result of the shutdown.
Iran gets senior seat on UN nuclear disarmament committee
Maya Shwayder, The Jerusalem Post – October 3, 2013
UN member states have elected Iran to be the rapporteur for the Disarmament and International Security Committee. The vote came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech to the UN General Assembly earlier this week.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Congress, Pentagon battle over ICBM study
Jenn Rowell, Great Falls Tribune – October 3, 2013
The Montana congressional delegation has called for a planned environmental impact study by the Department of Defense on intercontinental ballistic missiles stationed in Montana to be dropped. One congressman summed up the feeling of the delegation by describing the report as a “backdoor attempt to reduce our ICBM fleet”.
Updated New START Data Showing Larger U.S. Stockpile Not Alarming: Experts
Rachel Oswald, Nuclear Threat Initiative – October 3, 2013
Recently released figures have revealed that the number of US deployed strategic nuclear weapons has slightly increased over the past year. This increase has occurred despite planned reductions under the 2011 new START treaty. Experts are largely indifferent on the development, which they claim is minor considering that the US is still in compliance with its treaty obligations.
Three Y-12 protesters denied new trial, face sentencing in January
Associated Press – October 4, 2013
Three people who were convicted in May of breaking into a nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee have been denied a retrial in a Tennessee court. They are currently scheduled to be sentenced January 28 and face a prison sentence of up to 30 years.
NORTH KOREA
Signs Suggest North Korea Has Restarted Nuclear Reactor
Choe Sang-Hun, The New York Times – October 3, 2013
Commercial satellite imagery has revealed hot waste water discharging from North Korea’s main nuclear complex yesterday. Such a discharge suggests that the country has restarted the nuclear reactor stationed there in an attempt to obtain plutonium fuel for the development of a nuclear weapon.
