Iran Blocks U.N. Nuclear Inspectors: What We're Reading Now
Feb 03, 2012

IRAN

Iran Blocks U.N. Nuclear Inspectors
Jay Solomon, Wall Street Journal - February 3, 2012
Iran denied United Nations inspectors access to a suspected nuclear site, scientists and documents during a visit to Tehran this week, dimming already scant hopes for a breakthrough to end a standoff over Iran's nuclear work, said diplomats briefed on the International Atomic Energy Agency's mission.

Panetta believes Israel could strike Iran this spring
Barbara Starr, CNN (Blog) - February 2, 2012
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has come to the conclusion there is a growing likelihood Israel could attack Iran sometime this spring in an effort to destroy its suspected nuclear weapons program, according to a senior administration official.

Senate Panel Approves Potentially Toughest Penalty Yet Against Iran’s Wallet
Rick Gladstone, New York Times - February 2, 2012
The Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved a new regimen of anti-Iran sanctions on Thursday that would for the first time threaten to punish the global financial telecommunications network that nearly all banks rely on to conduct their daily business.

West making case to Israel: Don't attack Iran
Anne Gearan, Associated Press - February 2, 2012
Israel's major allies in the West are working hard to talk it out of a unilateral military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, arguing forcefully that an attack ultimately would strengthen, not weaken, the regime in Tehran.

Israeli Army Chief Says Nation Needs to Build Up Military to Strike Iran: What We're Reading Now
Feb 02, 2012

IRAN

Israeli Army Chief Says Nation Needs to Build Up Military to Strike Iran
Jonathan Ferziger and David Lerman, Bloomberg - February 1, 2012
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz said his country must build up its military capabilities and be prepared to strike if economic sanctions fail to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

US Navy comes to rescue of Iranian fishing dhow
Associated Foreign Press - February 1, 2012
The US Navy has announced that it assisted an Iranian fishing vessel in distress in the Gulf, the fourth such incident this year in an area marked by tension between Washington and Tehran.

U.N. Nuclear Monitor Agency Announces Second Visit to Iran
Rick Gladstone, New York Times - February 1, 2012
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Wednesday that its inspectors, who had just completed a three-day visit to Iran, would return there in three weeks.

A Third Option for Iran
Richard Haass and Bernard Gwertzman, Council on Foreign Relations - February 1, 2012
Living with a nuclear-armed Iran or launching a preventive military attack both carry great costs and risks, making it essential to pursue a combination of enhanced sanctions and renewed diplomacy, says CFR President Richard N. Haass.

Pentagon is asked to outline impact of budget cuts: What We're Reading Now
Nov 08, 2011

IRAN
Israeli strike on Iran nuclear program? Global leaders try to quiet speculation, threats.
Ariel Zirulnick, Christian Science Monitor -- November 8, 2011
Ahead of an IAEA report on Iran's nuclear program, China, Russia, Germany, and France have all urged calm.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatens to retaliate if US assassinates commanders
The Washington Post -- November 8, 2011
An Iranian semi-official news agency says that a top commander in the country’s Revolutionary Guard force has threatened to kill “dozens” of American military commanders, should the U.S. kill any one of theirs.

NORTH KOREA
Seoul Awaits Pyongyang’s Response on Nuclear Talks
Voice of America -- November 8, 2011
A South Korean official says two rounds of talks with North Korea have left Pyongyang with a better understanding of what it must do to effect a resumption of six-party nuclear negotiations.

South Korea approves shipment of medicine to North Korea, in signs of easing tensions
The Washington Post -- November 8, 2011
South Korea has lifted its block on donating medicine to North Korea via the World Health Organization, amid signs of easing tensions between the countries.

Israel Faces Questions About News Reports of Eyeing Iran Strike: What We're Reading Now
Nov 04, 2011

IRAN
Iran boosts anti-U.S. rhetoric ahead of nuclear report
Ramin Mostafavi, Reuters - November 4, 2011
Iran marked the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy on Friday with burning flags and chants of "Death to America," escalating its anti-U.S. rhetoric ahead of the release of a pivotal U.N. report on its nuclear programme.

Iran's nuclear ambitions have already started a war with west – a covert one
Julian Borger, The Guradian - November 4, 2011
The covert war on Iran's nuclear programme was launched in earnest by George Bush in 2007. It is a fair assumption that the western powers had been trying their best to spy on the Islamic Republic since the 1979 Iranian revolution, but the 2007 "presidential finding" put those efforts on a new footing.

China urges Iran be flexible on nuclear program
Reuters - November 4, 2011
China urged Iran on Friday to show flexibility over its controversial nuclear program and warned that the use of force to resolve the issue was the last thing the Middle East needed at the moment.

ISRAEL
Israel Faces Questions About News Reports of Eyeing Iran Strike
Isabel Kershner & David E. Sanger, NYT - November 3, 2011
Israel’s top leadership has spent the week answering and evading questions about widespread reports that it is once again considering a strike on Iran’s nuclear complexes, while President Obama said Thursday that he and his allies would maintain “unprecedented international pressure” on Tehran to keep it from producing a nuclear weapon.

Israel test fires missile that can hit Iran: What We're Reading Now
Nov 02, 2011

IRAN - ISRAEL
In Israel, speculation over strike on Iran grows
Jean-Luc Renaudie, AFP - November 2, 2011
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking cabinet support for a military strike on Iran, Haaretz newspaper reported on Wednesday, after days of speculation on plans for such an attack.

Israel test fires missile that can hit Iran
AP - November 2, 2011
Israel successfully test-fired on Wednesday a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and striking Iran, fanning a public debate over whether the country's leaders are agitating for a military attack on Tehran's atomic facilities.

NORTH & SOUTH KOREA
Nuclear summit to send 'firm message' to N. Korea: Seoul
Yonhap News - November 2, 2011
South Korea will use next year's world nuclear security summit in Seoul to increase diplomatic pressure on North Korea to abandon its atomic arsenal, a key organizer said Wednesday.

Factbox: Key political risks to watch on the Korean peninsula
Jeremy Laurence & Jack Kim, Reuters - November 2, 2011
Conciliatory gestures by both Koreas have raised hopes that long-stalled nuclear talks are back on the cards, but Seoul and Washington insist Pyongyang must first take concrete measures to disable its atomic program.

Pakistan warns Afghanistan after pact with India: What We're Reading Now
Oct 06, 2011

IRAN
   
Pressure builds on Iran at nuclear watchdog
Barbara Slavin, Asia Times - October 6, 2011
As Iran continues a slow march toward potential nuclear weapons capability, diplomatic action to contain the program is likely to shift to the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose director general, Yukiya Amano, has taken a harder line than his predecessor about alleged military research by Iran's nuclear scientists.

Is Israel Again Weighing an Attack on Iran's Nuclear Facilities?
Tony Karon, TIME (blog) - October 5, 2011
Panetta's comments, coming barely a month after the U.S. reportedly agreed to deliver 55 bunker-busting GBU-28 bombs to Israel, were widely viewed as an "down, boy" message to any adventurist bomb-Iran impulses on the part of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

NORTH & SOUTH KOREA
South Korea’s new nuclear envoy heads to US for talks on North Korea’s atomic program
AFP - October 6, 2011
South Korea’s new chief nuclear envoy is heading to the United States for talks on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry says Lim Sung-nam left on a three-day trip Thursday to meet with State Department and White House officials.

S. Korean Navy Says New Base Will Not Host US Military Vessels
Steve Herman, VoA - October 5, 2011
South Korean defense officials say a controversial proposed naval base, off the southern coast on Jeju island, will not allow permanent stationing of U.S. naval vessels.  And, they say the facility, to be completed in 2015, is meant to deter North Korea, not China.

U.S. warns NATO over spending cuts, security: What We're Reading Now
Oct 05, 2011

IRAN
Iran ready to halt 20% nuclear enrichment: Ahmadinejad
AFP – October 5, 2011
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday reiterated Tehran's readiness to "immediately" stop production of low enriched uranium of 20 percent, provided world powers give it the nuclear material.

U.K. Defense Chief Cites Iran's Nuclear Risk
Alistar MacDonald, WSJ – October 4, 2011
U.K. Defense Minister Liam Fox said a nuclear-armed Iran would trigger an arms race in the Middle East, one of the world's most unstable regions. Speaking at the Conservative Party's annual conference, Mr. Fox said Iran was a huge danger to the U.K. and that the world shouldn't rule out any option, including military action, to stop its advance.

Iran Could Boost Uranium Enrichment if Exchange Plan Fails
Global Security Newswire – October 4, 2011
Iran on Tuesday warned it would begin manufacturing atomic fuel at a faster pace if other governments continue to reject an exchange of nuclear material the Middle Eastern nation proposed last year with Turkey and Brazil, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported.

SOUTH & NORTH KOREA
Seoul taps Wi as ambassador to Russia
Kim Young-jin, Korea Times – October 4, 2011
Seoul has tapped its chief nuclear envoy as its new ambassador to Russia, promoting his deputy to take his place, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Wi, formerly the chief negotiator at the stalled six-party talks on North Korea’s denuclearization, will be replaced by Lim Sung-nam, who has served as diplomatic minister to Beijing.

N.Korea rejects preconditions for nuclear talks: What We're Reading Now
Oct 04, 2011

IRAN
Weapons-Grade Confusion: The Danger of Misreading Our Nuclear Adversaries
Patrick Disney, The Atlantic - October 4, 2011.
Miscommunication and mutual mistrust almost led us into an unwanted war with the Soviet Union - are we making similar mistakes with Iran today?

Iran Uranium Proposal Faces U.S. Skepticism
Global Security Newswire - October 3, 2011
The United States on Friday questioned Iran's stated willingness to halt production of higher-enriched uranium if it received the material from Western powers, Agence France-Presse reported

NORTH KOREA
N.Korea rejects preconditions for nuclear talks
AFP - October 4, 2011
North Korea on Tuesday rejected US preconditions for a resumption of long-stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, saying Washington is trying to shift the blame for the failure to restart dialogue.

S.Korea abandons bid to send flood aid to North
AFP - October 4, 2011
South Korea said Tuesday it had abandoned efforts to send flood relief to North Korea after Pyongyang failed to respond to Seoul's offer, amid disagreement over what kind of aid to send.

Is Iran Ready to Compromise?: What We're Reading Now
Oct 03, 2011

IRAN
Iran and the Arab Uprisings
Jayshree Bajoria, CFR - October 3, 2011
The mass uprisings sweeping the Middle East have fed a competition for regional influence as the old order continues to totter. In the thick of things is Iran, which has great interest in the viability of its embattled Syrian allies, the Saudi role in Bahrain, and the leadership turnover in longtime rival Egypt.

Is Iran Ready to Compromise?
Robert Dreyfuss, The Diplomat - October 1, 2011
There are some encouraging signs Iran may be willing to compromise over its nuclear programme. But is the Obama administration willing to listen?

NORTH KOREA
US-NK nuclear talks likely after Lee-Obama summit
The Korea Times - October 1, 2011
The United States and North Korea are likely to hold their second round of nuclear disarmament talks later this month, after a summit meeting between the South Korean and U.S. presidents, a senior government official in Seoul said, stressing the allies' close cooperation on the issue.

Can Seoul make play for detainees in North Korea?
Kim Young-jin, Korea Times - October 3, 2011
Calls are growing for the government to step up efforts to rescue South Koreans detained in North Korea, including a 69-year-old woman stranded for decades after being lured there with her husband. But given North Korea’s dismal track record on human rights, does it stand any chance of securing their return?

Panetta vs. Weinberger: We Have Seen This Movie Before
Sep 27, 2011

Now that he is Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta is warning against dastardly cuts to the defense budget.

At a Pentagon News briefing on September 20 he said that : “The roughly $1 trillion in cuts that would be forced by sequester would seriously weaken our military, and it would really make us unable to protect this nation from a range of security threats that we face. Since the cuts would have to be applied in equal percentages to every project area, we just simply could not avoid hollowing out the force.”  

He added the next day before the Senate Armed Services Committee: “This Department is taking on its share of our country’s efforts to achieve fiscal discipline, but I want to caution strongly against further cuts to defense, particularly through the mechanism known as sequester. This mechanism would force defense cuts that, in my view, would do catastrophic damage to our military and its ability to protect the country.”

Sad to say, Panetta is singing a different tune from his days as President Bill Clinton’s green eye shade overseer of the entire budget as head of Office of Management and Budget.