Iran says seeks end to sanctions at talks with world powers: What We're Reading Now
May 02, 2012

Iran

Iran says seeks end to sanctions at talks with world powers
Fredrik Dahl, Reuters - May 2, 2012
Iran said on Wednesday it was seeking an end to Western sanctions over its arms program during talks with world powers and criticized France for helping Israel, the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have atomic weapons.

IMF rejects call to cut ties with Iran
Agence France Presse - May 1, 2012
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday rejected a call by a US anti-Iran group for it to cut its relations with Tehran's central bank in order to adhere to US and European sanctions.

U.S. Expands Reach Of Sanctions On Syria, Iran
Kevin Hall, McClatchy News Services - May 2, 2012
The Obama administration on Tuesday granted the Treasury Department authority blacklist foreign nationals and companies that help Iran and Syria evade U.S. and international sanctions. President Barack Obama signed an executive order and notified congressional leaders that he had given Treasury expanded powers thwart the evasion of U.S. sanctions.

Iran is top ‘contingency’ in whittled U.S. war plans
Rowan Scarborough, The Washington Times - May 1, 2012
The U.S. military is discussing significant changes in its war plans to adhere to President Obama’s strategic guidance that downplays preparing for conflicts such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and counts on allies to provide additional troops.

Obama announces new sanctions on Syria and Iran: What We're Reading Now
Apr 24, 2012

Korean Peninsula

N. Korea Vows To Turn South's Leadership To Ashes
Associated Press - April 23, 2012
North Korea sharply escalated the rhetoric against its southern rival, claiming it will soon conduct "special actions" that would reduce South Korea's conservative government to ashes within minutes.

North Korea's nuclear test ready 'soon'
Benjamin Kang Lim, Reuters - April 24, 2012
North Korea has almost completed preparations for a third nuclear test, a senior source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing told Reuters, which will draw further international condemnation following a failed rocket launch if it goes ahead.

Iran

Obama announces new sanctions on Syria and Iran
Lesley Clark, McClatchy Newspapers - April 23, 2012
President Barack Obama took aim Monday at Syria and Iran, imposing new sanctions on the two regimes as well as the “digital guns for hire” that develop technology enabling the two governments to monitor, track and harass their own people.

Facing Cyberattack, Iranian Officials Disconnect Some Oil Terminals From Internet
Thomas Erdbrink, New York Times - April 23, 2012
Iran disconnected several of its main Persian Gulf oil terminals from the Internet on Monday, local news media reported, as technicians were struggling to contain what they said were intensifying cyberattacks on the Oil Ministry and its affiliates.

Ahmadinejad Says Iran Is Ready for Nuclear Talks: What We're Reading Now
Jan 26, 2012

IRAN

Ahmadinejad Says Iran Is Ready for Nuclear Talks
J. David Goodman, New York Times - January 26, 2012 Even as he became the latest and most senior member of the Iranian government to publicly declare his readiness for nuclear talks, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday lashed out at the West over its tough new economic sanctions that he said have hurt the Iranian people.

IAEA talks in Tehran to test Iran's nuclear defiance
Fredrik Dahl, Reuters - January 26, 2012
A rare visit by senior U.N. nuclear inspectors next week raises pressure on Iran to address suspicions it is trying to develop atomic weapons, though Western powers that are piling on sanctions expect no significant breakthrough.

Can Sanctions Alone Get Iran To Negotiate
Tom Gjelten, NPR - January 25, 2012
In an effort to bring Iran to the negotiating table over its nuclear program through economic pain, both the U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions that should make it harder for Iran to sell its oil. But the global oil business is unpredictable, and sanctions are no guarantee.

Iran won't move toward nuclear weapon in 2012 - ISIS report
Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball, Reuters - January 26, 2012
Iran is unlikely to move toward building a nuclear weapon this year because it does not yet have the capability to produce enough weapon-grade uranium, a draft report by the Institute for Science and International Security said on Wednesday.

U.S. Shifts Policy On Nuclear Pacts: What We're Reading Now
Jan 25, 2012

IRAN

Sanctions Against Iran Grow Tighter, but What’s the Next Step?
Helene Cooper, New York Times - January 24, 2012
As the Obama administration and its European allies toughened economic sanctions against Iran on Monday — blocking its access to the world financial system and undermining its critical oil and gas industry — officials on both sides of the Atlantic acknowledge that their last-ditch effort has only a limited chance of persuading Tehran to abandon what the West fears is its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Iran says sanctions to fail, repeats Hormuz threat
Mitra Amiri, Reuters - January 25, 2012
Iranian politicians said on Tuesday they expected the European Union to backtrack on its oil embargo and repeated a threat to close the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane if the West succeeds in preventing Tehran from exporting crude.

KOREAN PENINSULA

U.S. still taking cautious approach to North Korea aid
John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times - January 24, 2012
In mid-December, U.S. negotiators came the closest they'd come in two years to resuming humanitarian food aid for millions of undernourished North Koreans.

UNITED STATES

U.S. Shifts Policy on Nuclear Pacts
Jay Solomon, Wall Street Journal - January 25, 2012
The Obama administration, in advanced negotiations on nuclear-cooperation agreements with Jordan and Vietnam, has withdrawn a demand that these countries forgo their rights to produce nuclear fuel, senior U.S. officials said.

Amid New Sanctions, Obama Confronts the Challenges of Diplomacy with Iran: What We're Reading Now
Jan 24, 2012

IRAN

Bid to restart Iran nuclear talks pits Western demands against Tehran’s defiance
Ali Akbar Dareini, AP - January 24, 2012
The last time Iran’s nuclear envoys held talks with the U.S. and other world powers, the negotiations limped along until a parting shot by the Islamic Republic: Its labs boosted the enrichment levels of uranium in reply to demands for a full-scale freeze.

Amid New Sanctions, Obama Confronts the Challenges of Diplomacy with Iran
Tony Karon, TIME Magazine (Blog) - January 23, 2012
Despite the deafening racket of the mass-media drums of war, neither President Obama nor the Pentagon has an appetite for a confrontation with Iran that could unleash havoc across the Middle East and would at best simply delay Tehran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons.

Foreign Policy: Stop The Madness
Yousaf Butt, NPR - January 23, 2012
Olli Heinonen is alarmed that Iran has begun producing 20 percent enriched uranium at a new, deeply buried site, and calculates that Iranian scientists could further purify the material to the 90 percent enrichment needed for a bomb in about six months' time.

Bank Tejarat Banned by U.S., EU in Move Stifling Iran Trade
Indira A.R. Lakshmanan, Bloomberg Businessweek - January 24, 2012
The U.S. and European Union took steps to cut off from the international financial system Bank Tejarat, the last institution financing high-volume exports and imports between Iran and Europe.

Europe bans Iranian oil imports in push to curtail nuclear program: What We're Reading Now
Jan 23, 2012

IRAN

Europe bans Iranian oil imports in push to curtail nuclear program
Edward Cody, The Washington Post - January 23, 2012
Europe banned the import of Iranian oil Monday and froze Europe-based assets of the Central Bank of Iran, intensifying an international campaign to choke Iran’s economy and force the radical Islamic government to dispel fears that it is working to develop nuclear weapons.

U.S. aircraft carrier sails through strategic Strait of Hormuz
David S. Cloud, Los Angeles Times - January 22, 2012
A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the first transit since Iran warned American ships this year against using the strategic waterway.

Iran gets the message from Washington
David Ignatius, The Washington Post - January 20, 2012
The Iran nuclear crisis is far from over, but Tehran appears to have made a subtle blink — backing away from its threat a few weeks ago to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to escalating U.S. sanctions.

"What we know suggests the development of nuclear weapons'
Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic - January 20, 2012
Yukiya Amano, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is not shrinking in the face of Iranian denials. Once again, he has asserted his suspicions that Iran's goal is a nuclear-weapons capability.

North Korea Reports Progress on New Reactor: What We're Reading Now
Dec 01, 2011

IRAN
As Britain Closes Embassies, Iran’s Isolation Could Complicate Nuclear Issue
John F. Burns, The New York Times -- December 1, 2011
ith Britain’s decision to close its vandalized embassy in Tehran and expel all Iranian diplomats from London, Iran appears to have moved a major step closer to international pariah status. That isolation could complicate efforts by Western governments to halt what they have identified as Iran’s covert efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, according to diplomats and others who monitor Iranian affairs.

Iran Clings to Oil Lifeline as U.S. Pushes for Tighter Financial Sanctions
Indira Lakshmanan, Bloomberg -- December 1, 2011
Just after 3 p.m. on Nov. 29, about 200 demonstrators ransacked the British Embassy in Tehran, chanting “Death to England,” setting fire to the Union Jack, carting off a portrait of Queen Elizabeth, and detaining staff as Iranian security officers stood by. It bore all the marks of a state-orchestrated provocation.

NORTH KOREA
On Burma (Myanmar) visit, Hillary Clinton highlights North Korea determination
Donald Kirk, Christian Science Monitor -- December 1, 2011
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Burma (Myanmar) to laud democratic reforms there, Burma’s ally, North Korea, proudly claims rapid progress on its nuclear program.

North Korea Reports Progress on New Reactor
Choe Sang-Hun, The New York Times -- November 30, 2011
North Korea reported brisk progress in building a new nuclear reactor and producing enriched uranium on Wednesday. Although the statement appeared to invite international inspectors to verify that the facilities are for peaceful purposes, it was the latest sign that North Korea is pressing ahead with its nuclear program.

New Working Group on Iran Sanctions
Aug 04, 2010

Yesterday, Howard Berman and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of the House Foreign Affairs Committee released the following statement announcing the initiation of a bipartisan Working Group on Iran Sanction Implementation:

Today we are initiating a working group that will help ensure that U.S. and international sanctions on Iran are fully implemented, effectively enforced and, ultimately, have the intended effect of bringing about Iran’s termination of all activities contributing to its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability.

The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2010, which was signed into law by President Obama on July 1, has already had a significant impact on Iran's access to international markets and its ability to acquire refined petroleum.

We will continue to pressure and isolate Iran until it terminates its illicit nuclear weapons activities.  A nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable.

“The group will meet on a regular basis with Administration officials, foreign ambassadors, and outside experts to oversee and verify enforcement of Iran sanctions implementation” ---- which is pretty ambiguous, but there’s nothing like leaving for recess on a strong note, right?

So it goes...
Jul 01, 2010

At 6:15 this evening, in the East Room of the White House, President Obama will sign into law “the toughest ever unilateral US sanctions against the Islamic republic” that nobody believes will work.

The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act was passed last week by overwhelming margins in both the House and Senate: 408-8 and 99-0, respectively.  

Despite Congress’ denial of exemptions for cooperating countries sought by the administration, reactions from the White House have been mostly positive.  In a statement released Friday, Secretary Clinton welcomed the passage of the legislation, saying that both she and President Obama support the “broad aims” of the Congressional action.

While the final measure does contain significant human rights and development initiatives that should not be discounted, they do little to offset the fact that the people of Iran, not the regime, are most sensitive to broad sanctions such as those passed by Congress.

Update 6/2/10: Remarks by the President at the signing can be found here.

More Sanctions (Updates)
Jun 17, 2010

After setting the stage at the UN last week, the US and EU have followed through on their pledge to implement strong unilateral sanctions on Iran.  While decades of US sanctions have eliminated Iran’s reliance on the US market and rendered US sanctions essentially worthless, the implementation of stronger European sanctions is a significant step.

According to an official statement, the European measures include sanctions on “key sectors of the gas and oil industry with prohibition of new investment, technical assistance and transfers of technologies” and related equipment and services.  In addition, Iran's shipping and air cargo companies will be blacklisted and banned from operating in EU territory, and new visa bans and asset freezes will be imposed on Iran's Revolutionary Guard.  Officials say the new sanctions could come into force within weeks.

Prior to this move, the EU has not placed significant trade restrictions on Iran beyond existing UN sanctions.  As a result, the EU is one of Iran’s largest trading partners, along with China, and provides for more than 20 percent of Iran’s trade.  H/T to Max Bergmann here, who makes some great points on the Obama Administration’s containment strategy over at the Wonk Room. Bergmann points out that...