IRAN
Iran Threatens Attacks on US Bases in Event of War
AP – September 23, 2012
A senior commander in Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard warned that Iran will target U.S. bases in the region in the event of war with Israel, raising the prospect of a broader conflict that would force other countries to get involved, Iranian state television reported Sunday. The comments by Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who heads the Guard’s aerospace division, came amid tension over Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s suggestion that it might unilaterally strike Iranian nuclear facilities to scuttle what the United States and its allies believe are efforts to build a bomb. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
UPDATE 2-Iran Accuses IAEA of Passing Nuclear Secrets to Israel
Yeganeh Torbati, Reuters – September 23, 2012
A senior Iranian lawmaker accused the UN nuclear watchdog on Sunday of passing confidential details of Iran’s atomic work to Israel, and a military commander said Tehran may consider a pre-emptive strike on the Jewish state if it looked set to attack. Javad Jahangirzadeh, a member of parliament’s presiding board, said International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano had made “repeated trips” to Israel, divulging sensitive information about what Tehran says is its peaceful nuclear programme.
Iran Denies Hacking into American Banks
Reuters – September 23, 2012
Iran denied its hackers attacked American banks, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday, following a Reuters report that three of the largest American lenders were repeatedly targeted over the past year. The hacking of websites and corporate networks at Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc began in late 2011 and escalated this year, people familiar with the situation told Reuters.
NORTH KOREA
Will North Korea Strike Again in NLL Area
Evan Ramstad, Wall Street Journal – September 24, 2012
For months, South Korean politicians and spectators have been speculating about what North Korea may do to influence the outcome of the December presidential election. Guesses have ranged from some type of skirmish in Yellow Sea where there’s been action before, to small-scale terrorist-like action by North Korean agents in the country to a surprise summit between Kim Jong Eun and Lee Myung-bak.
Iraq Blocks Syria-Bound North Korea Plane, Suspects Weapons Cargo
Suadad al-Salhy, Reuters – September 21, 2012
Iraq said on Friday it has denied permission to a North Korean plane bound for Syria to pass through Iraqi airspace on suspicion it could be carrying weapons, and the United States stressed the need to prevent any such arms transfers. Iraq has also denied a Western intelligence report that Iranian aircraft had flown weapons and military personnel over Iraqi airspace to help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his 18-month-old fight against rebels seeking to end his rule.
MOLDOVA
Moldova Says it Detains Uranium Leaders from Rebel Region
Chisinau, Reuters – September 21, 2012
Moldovan police have detained seven suspected members of a group that traded firearms and uranium, operating in the separatist Transdniestria region, the former Soviet republic’s interior ministry said on Friday. “We have documented numerous cases involving shipments of hand grenades, TNT blocks, Kalashnkikov assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher charges and containers with radioactive uranium-235,” Vitalie Briceag, the head of the ministry’s investigations department, told reporters.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Leadership for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World
Ramesh Thakur, The Japan Times – September 24, 2012
In a world beset by many grave problems that threaten to unleash a perfect storm at short notice, many people bemoan the dearth of responsible and high-quality leadership to point the way forward to a more prosperous, peaceful and just future.
Yesterday’s leaders may no longer be in power but have much to contribute by drawing on their accumulated experience, wisdom and detachment from the everyday concerns of making and executing public and foreign policy.
Uranium Substitute is No Longer Needed, But Its Disposal May Pose Security Risk
Matthew L. Wald, New York Times – September 23, 2012
At the dawn of the civilian nuclear age in the 1950s, one of the pressing questions was how to find enough fuel for reactors and bombs. The government and the private sector seized on a man-made substitute for natural uranium, producing about 3,400 pounds of an exotic and expensive material called uranium 233. Today, the problem is how to safely get rid of it.
The Threat of a New Nuclear Arms Race
Washington Post – September 22, 2012
Advocates of nuclear weapons use terms such as modernization to make the case that our nuclear weapons complex is dangerously out of date. In Sept. 16 and 17 news articles on proposed spending on our nuclear arsenal, The Post explored the skyrocketing costs but did not question the assertion that modernization is needed for our security.
