IRAN
Russia Warns Against Attacking Iran Over Nuclear Fears
Steve Gutterman, Reuters – September 6, 2012
Russia has starkly warned Israel and the United States against attacking Iran, saying Moscow sees no evidence that Tehran’s nuclear program is aimed at developing weapons, the Interfax news agency reported on Thursday. “We warn those who are no strangers to military solutions … that this would be harmful, literally disastrous for regional stability,” Interfax quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.
IAEA Shows Diplomats Images of Suspected Iran Nuclear Clean-Up
Fredrik Dahl, Reuters – September 5, 2012
The U.N. nuclear watchdog showed a series of satellite images on Wednesday that added to suspicions of clean-up activity at an Iranian military site it wants to inspect, Western diplomats said, but Tehran’s envoy dismissed the presentation. The pictures, displayed during a closed-door briefing for member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), indicated determined efforts in recent months to remove any incriminating evidence at the Parchin site, the diplomats said.
NORTH KOREA
North Korea Blasts Chinese Company in Failed Deal
Reuters – September 5, 2012
North Korea made a blistering and extremely rare attack Wednesday on a Chinese company that had accused it of corruption and fraud in a $45 million investment in the reclusive state, saying the company had reneged on the deal. In online statements, the company, Haicheng Xiyang Group, described its investment in a venture processing iron-ore powder as “a nightmare” and said North Korea had violated its own investment laws.
ISRAEL
Leak Prompts Netanyahu to Cancel Security Cabinet Meeting on Iran Issue
Isabel Kershner, The New York Times – September 5, 2012
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly canceled a meeting of his security cabinet on Wednesday, saying information was leaked from the highly confidential deliberations, a security failure that could undermine his efforts to project a unified front to the West about how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program.
GERMANY
Germany Will Keep Nuclear Warheads
UPI – September 5, 2012
Germany has agreed to NATO’s plans to keep U.S. nuclear warheads in the country, military sources said. The sources told the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau that in addition to putting off plans to have the atomic weapons removed, the Berlin government has agreed to let the United States modernize them, The Local.de reported Wednesday.
SYRIA
US Urges Iraq to Inspect Iran Supply Flights to Syria
Patrick Markey, Reuters – September 6, 2012
U.S. officials are questioning Iraq about Iranian flights in Iraqi airspace suspected of ferrying weapons to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose conflict with rebels threatens to drag his neighbours into a regional struggle. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government is close to the regional Shi’ite power Iran, Assad’s main ally, and he has opposed demands by Sunni Arab Gulf nations that Assad step down to end the escalating conflict over his rule.
DEFENSE SPENDING
McMahon, Murphy Clash Over US Defense Spending
Michael Melia, Boston Globe – September 5, 2012
The rivals for Connecticut’s open U.S. Senate seat are clashing over spending on defense, an industry that accounts for roughly a tenth of the state’s economy. Former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, the Republican nominee, says that she would try to shield the Pentagon from any budget cuts. On a visit Wednesday to greet workers at Electric Boat in Groton, she challenged the record of her opponent, U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, a Democrat who supports some defense cuts as part of a larger strategy to rein in spending.
AFGHANISTAN
US to Retain Role as a Jailer in Afghanistan
Charlie Savage & Graham Bowley, New York Times – September 5, 2012
The United States military will maintain control over dozens of foreign detainees in Afghanistan for the indefinite future, even as the two countries prepare to ceremonially mark the hand-over of detention operations to the Afghan government, officials from both countries say. Further, although thousands of Afghan detainees have already been turned over, the United States will continue to hold and screen newly captured Afghans for a time, ensuring continued American involvement in detention and interrogation activities.
