MISSILE DEFENSE
House panel to call for building East Coast missile site by 2018
Jeremy Herb, The Hill — June 4, 2013
The House Armed Services Committee is likely to approve an amendment Wednesday to build a third missile defense site on the East Coast by 2018.
The amendment from Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), obtained by The Hill, would direct $140 million in the 2014 Defense budget to go toward building the ground-based missile interceptors.
IRAN
US, EU accuse Iran of nuclear defiance, worried about Tehran’s plutonium-producing reactor.
The Associated Press – June 5, 2013
The U.S. accused Iran of deception and defiance Wednesday, asserting that over the past decade it has stonewalled international demands to allow scrutiny of its nuclear programs.
The European Union was also critical of Iran, as the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency focused on the failure of attempts to persuade the Islamic Republic to reduce fears about its nuclear activities.
Sanctions push Iran’s oil exports to lowest in decades
Alex Lawler and Nidhi Verma, Reuters — June 5, 2013
Western sanctions drove Iran’s crude exports to the lowest in decades in May, according to industry sources and tanker-tracking data, even before Washington toughens measures aimed at squeezing oil sales further.
Iran Nuclear Reactor Damaged By Earthquakes, Diplomats Say
George Jahn, The Associated Press — June 4, 2013
Several countries monitoring Iran’s nuclear program have picked up information that the country’s only power-producing nuclear reactor was damaged by one or more of several recent earthquakes, with long cracks appearing in at least one section of the structure, two diplomats said Tuesday.
U.S. Bans 37 Firms in Dispute With Iran
Rick Gladstone, The New York Times — June 4, 2013
The United States on Tuesday blacklisted what it described as a global network of front companies controlled by Iran’s top leaders, accusing them of hiding assets and generating billions of dollars’ worth of revenue to help Tehran evade sanctions over its disputed nuclear program.
US extending Iran sanctions waivers to China, India, 7 other countries
The Associated Press — June 4, 2013
The Obama administration will extend six-month sanctions exemptions to China, India and seven other countries for significantly reducing oil imports from Iran, officials said Tuesday, as the U.S. imposed new measures against companies believed to be acting as a front network to help the Iranian government evade international financial restrictions.
NORTH KOREA
S. Korea, China oppose nuclear-armed N. Korea
Yonhap News Agency — June 5, 2013
South Korean and Chinese military leaders called for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula during their bilateral talks, Seoul officials said Wednesday, delivering a stark message to North Korea regarding its nuclear programs.
Opinion: A Chance to Defuse North Korea
Gi-Wook Shin, Thomas Fingar, and David Straub, The New York Times — June 5, 2013
The talks that begin on Friday in California between President Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, offer a unique opportunity for the two leaders to forge a personal relationship and frankly address major issues. Among these none is more urgent than North Korea.
IAEA
UN Atomic Agency Says 70 Countries Joined Iran in Shirking Duty
Jonathan Tirone, Bloomberg News — June 5, 2013
Iran, in the second decade of a nuclear investigation, isn’t the only country shirking its responsibilities to United Nations nuclear monitors charged with ensuring material isn’t diverted to make weapons.
Seventy-one countries, or 45 percent of IAEA members, failed to provide “timely responses to agency requests,” the Vienna-based group reported yesterday in an 82-page restricted report obtained by Bloomberg News. The IAEA conducted 1,962 on-site inspections in 2012, with 215 taking place in Iran.
