IRAN
Exiled dissidents claim Iran building new nuclear site
Fredrik Dahl, Reuters — July 11, 2013
An exiled opposition group said on Thursday it had obtained information about a secret underground nuclear site under construction in Iran, without specifying what kind of atomic activity it believed would be carried out there.
Tehran says no Iran-IAEA meeting in August
AzerNews — July 11, 2013
Director of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Fereydoun Abbasi dismissed the news reports saying that Iran and the UN nuclear agency may hold a meeting in August, Tehran Times reported…”We have not received any new information in this regard,” he told reporters after a cabinet meeting on July 9, adding that Iran itself will make an announcement in this relation if there is a new development.
Some In U.S. Congress Urge More Iran Pressure, Others Want Relationship ‘Reset’
Golnaz Esfandiari, Radio Free Europe/Radio LIberty — July 11, 2013
Is the election of cleric Hassan Rohani as Iran’s new president an opportunity for the United States to intensify its diplomatic efforts to resolve the standoff over Tehran’s controversial program, or a chance to tighten the screws on a new regime?…Members of Congress are arguing both sides in the wake of Rohani’s June 14 election.
P5+1 hopes new Iran nuclear team responds to Almaty offer
Laura Rozen, Al-Monitor — July 10, 2013
…The P5+1 political directors meeting, expected to be held July 16th, comes as western capitals signaled they hope the new Iran nuclear team selected under Rouhani responds substantively to a confidence-building proposal they presented to Iran at talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan in February.
Getting to ‘Yes’ With Iran
Robert Einhorn, Foreign Policy — July 10, 2013
We don’t yet know whether Hasan Rouhani’s election as president of Iran will improve the prospects for a nuclear deal — prospects that had dimmed significantly as a result of continued stalemate in the negotiations in the first half of 2013. But if the United States and its partners are to take advantage of whatever opportunity may exist post-election, they need to move quickly to review and adjust their own approach.
NORTH KOREA
North Korea says could resume nuclear talks if US ends hostility
Mark Heinrich, Reuters — July 10, 2013
North Korea said on Wednesday that it would not give up its nuclear deterrent until the United States ends its “hostile policy” towards Pyongyang, but that it was ready to revive international talks on its nuclear programme frozen since 2008.
China stands firm against nuclear N. Korea: S. Korean FM
Yonhap News Agency — July 11, 2013
Chinese leaders expressed their firm will in opposition to North Korea’s nuclear programs “with hard-to-doubt expressions” during a Seoul-Beijing summit last month, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Thursday.
NUCLEAR/DEFENSE SPENDING
House rejects effort to trim $23.7M in funding for B61
Michael Coleman, ABQ Journal — July 11, 2013
The U.S. House on Wednesday rejected an attempt to scale back spending on B61 bombs maintained at Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, setting up a possible spending showdown with the U.S. Senate.
Hagel warns Congress to stop defense budget cuts
Richard Lardner and Donna Cassata, The Associated Press — July 10, 2013
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned lawmakers Wednesday of severe and unacceptable effects on the U.S. military if Congress doesn’t end the automatic spending cuts projected to slice $52 billion from the defense budget for 2014.
NUCLEAR SECURITY
Threats and opportunities in nuclear security spending
Nickolas Roth, The Hill — July 10, 2013
Soon after he came into office, President Obama pledged to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world within four years. The President made great strides toward accomplishing this important goal, but his recently proposed cuts to nuclear security programs could jeopardize ongoing work to prevent nuclear terrorism.
