Group Sees Sign of Iran Cleanup at Nuclear Site: What We're Reading Now
May 10, 2012
Iran
Hollande and Iran
John Vinocur, New York Times (Op-Ed) - May 9, 2012
In the run-up to the French presidential election, the Iranian newspaper Tehran Emrooz wrote that “emphasis must be given to the advantages of a victory by François Hollande.” "A victory will lead to a softening of Paris’ policies toward Iran,” it said. “France under Sarkozy was the strong voice in the European Union against Iran. Hollande’s victory will bring nuances to this approach.”
Group Sees Sign of Iran Cleanup at Nuclear Site
Rick Gladstone, New York Times - May 9, 2012
New commercial satellite imagery of an Iranian military site that has remained off limits to international nuclear inspectors shows recent activity that suggests the Iranians have tried to clean up a suspected explosives testing chamber there, a group that tracks nuclear proliferation said Wednesday.
Russia
Putin Pulls Out Of US Summit, Meeting With Obama
Associated Press - May 9, 2012
Russian President Vladimir Putin is skipping a planned visit to the United States this month for an economic summit and a much-anticipated meeting with President Barack Obama, the White House announced Wednesday.
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.
Ahmadinejad Says Iran Is Ready for Nuclear Talks: What We're Reading Now
Jan 26, 2012
IRAN
Ahmadinejad Says Iran Is Ready for Nuclear TalksJ. 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.
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.
Nuclear Isotopes Caught Heading to Iran – Not Quite What it Seemed: What We're Reading Now
Dec 16, 2011
IRAN
Nuclear Isotopes Caught Heading to Iran – Not Quite What it Seemed
Jeffrey Kofman, ABC News -- December 16, 2011
Reports from Moscow appeared to provide more evidence of Iran’s ambition to build a nuclear bomb. Russian customs agents said Friday morning they found 18 pieces of radioactive metal in the luggage of a passenger bound for Tehran. A radiation detector at the airport identified the luggage, which had levels of radiation 20 times the limit.
Russian customs seize Iran-bound radioactive metal
Nataliya Vasilyeva, Associated Press -- December 16, 2011
Russia's customs agency said Friday that it seized radioactive metal from the luggage of an Iranian passenger bound for Tehran. Spokeswoman Kseniya Grebenkina told The Associated Press that the luggage had been seized some time ago, but could not specify when. The Iranian hasn't been detained, she said.
NORTH KOREA
U.S., North Korea resume talks on food aid
William Wan, Washington Post -- December 15, 2011
U.S. officials have resumed talking to North Korea about providing food aid to the impoverished country, proposing that it accept nutrition-rich items — such as Plumpy Nut peanut paste — that are considered less likely to be diverted to the North Korean elite.
Israel calls for "paralyzing" sanctions on Iran: What We're Reading Now
Dec 12, 2011
IRAN
Israel calls for "paralyzing" sanctions on Iran
Reuters -- December12, 2011
Iran's ruling clerics could use nuclear weapons to strengthen their grip on power and the world must urgently impose crippling sanctions to prevent them from building such arms, Israel's defense minister said on Sunday.
Iran’s Got Our Drone: Distraction or Disaster?
Mark Thomson, TIME -- December 11, 2011
Let’s say you’re outside walking around when you’re hit in the head by an iPhone that falls from the sky. Just how lucky are you? Pretty darn lucky, especially if you were trying to bring it down. But now that you’ve got it, how much can you learn from it? That’s the challenge facing Tehran following its claim last week that it had brought down one of America’s most-secret reconnaissance systems: the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel drone.
NORTH KOREA
U.S. Diplomat Urges North Korea to "Change Behavior"
Global Security Newswire -- December 11, 2011
The U.S. special representative for North Korea on Monday said the Obama administration would not agree to another round of bilateral talks with the Stalinist state until officials there "change their behavior," Agence France-Presse reported.
INTERVIEW: North Korea's end heralds the real crisis
Victor Fic and Jennifer Lind, The Asia Times -- December 12, 2011
What is more dangerous than a strong dictatorship? A collapsed one, so Lind warns in her latest analysis. [1] In this interview with Asia Times Online contributor Victor Fic, Lind says that a North Korean implosion creates many perils, such as "loose nukes" entering the global black market. She also calls upon the US, South Korea and China to start planning together - now - for the staggering task of managing North Korea's collapse.
Pakistan to boycott meeting over deadly NATO raid: What We're Reading Now
Nov 29, 2011
IRAN
Iran Nuclear Sabotage Suspected After Reports of Blasts at Atomic Centers
Ladane Nasseri, Bloomberg - November 29, 2011
Reports of a blast in the province of Isfahan, home to one of Iran’s atomic facilities, adds to a series of unexplained incidents that have raised suspicions of sabotage against the country’s nuclear program.
Analysis: For Iran, the sanctions price may be worth paying
Fredrik Dahl, Reuters - November 29, 2011
Iran regards its nuclear programme as a source of power and prestige and tougher sanctions look unlikely to alter Tehran's cost-benefit analysis much despite the economic pain they cause.
The Real Lesson of Iraq
Malrid Braut-Hegghammer, NYT (Op-Ed) - November 28, 2011
Parallels between Iraq’s former nuclear weapons program and the Iranian nuclear program have shaped policy debates for nearly a decade. We are still paying the costs of failing in Iraq. Israel now seems determined to make similar mistakes in Iran.
NORTH & SOUTH KOREA
Blix: NK Not a Topic at Seoul Nuclear Summit
Evan Ramstad, WSJ - November 29, 2011
Hans Blix, the Swedish lawyer and nuclear specialist who led the International Atomic Energy Agency in the 1990s and the U.N. nuclear verification commission a decade ago, was in Seoul Tuesday to meet President Lee Myung-bak and help define the agenda for the 47-nation Nuclear Security Summit to be hosted in Seoul in March.
Russia Prepares to ‘Destroy’ U.S. Shield, Medvedev Says: What We're Reading Now
Nov 23, 2011
IRAN
Half of US voters say bomb Iran if sanctions fail
AFP - November 23, 2011
Fifty percent of Americans believe military action should be taken to stop Iran's nuclear program if sanctions do not work, a national poll released on Wednesday said.
Obama Aide Says Iran’s Leaders Are Feeling the Strain of Sanctions
Mark Landler, NYT - November 22, 2011
A day after the United States imposed fresh sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, President Obama’s national security adviser argued Tuesday that the administration’s pressure campaign had left Iran’s leaders economically strained, diplomatically isolated and rent by internal divisions.
Defiant Iran eyes retaliation for sanctions
Marc Burleigh, AFP - November 23, 2011
A defiant Iran said on Wednesday that it will not back down despite newly announced Western sanctions over its atomic drive, as it took the first steps to hit back at the measures. "The Iranian nation will not back down an iota, and will not allow the slightest move to encroach on the nation's rights" in terms of its nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech aired on state television.
AFGHANISTAN
World Bank says Afghanistan will need billions of dollars in aid for years to come
AP (Washington Post) - November 23, 2011
Afghanistan could face economic collapse if international assistance is abruptly cut as foreign combat forces are withdrawn, the World Bank warned, stressing that the war-ravaged nation will need billions of dollars in aid for a decade or more.
What's next after 'super committee' failure?: What We're Reading Now
Nov 22, 2011
IRAN
Iran misjudged West's resolve in nuclear standoff: analysts
Parisa Hafezi, Reuters -- November 22, 2011
Grudgingly admired in the past by the West for its negotiating skills and by the Iranian nation for its uncompromising stance, Iran's leadership may have misjudged recent confrontational tactics in its nuclear standoff with big powers, analysts say.
U.S., Russia and U.K. Back Israel at Mideast Meeting
Fox News -- November 22, 2011
In a boost to Israel, Russia joined the U.S. and Britain on Tuesday in backing the Jewish state's view that the Middle East cannot be turned into a nuclear arms-free zone without progress on regional peace.
Crude up on Iran nuclear program tensions
Reuters -- November 22, 2011
U.S. crude futures rose on Tuesday in choppy trading as concerns about rising geopolitical tensions over OPEC-member Iran's nuclear program bolstered oil prices.
NORTH KOREA
US restates N.Korea nuclear demands
Associated Foreign Press -- November 22, 2011
The United States will consider holding further talks with North Korea but Pyongyang must halt its uranium enrichment programme before full disarmament negotiations resume, a senior US official said Tuesday.
IAEA, South Korea to Boost Efforts Against North Korean Nukes
Global Security Newswire -- November 21, 2011
The International Atomic Energy Agency and South Korea have agreed to increase their collaboration on countering North Korea's nuclear warhead development, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Friday.
South Korea Seeking Trilateral Talks on North: What We're Reading Now
Nov 10, 2011
IRAN
Russian scientist who figures in IAEA report denies helping Iran build a nuclear weapon
Washington Post -- November 10, 2011
A Russian scientist accused of helping Iran develop technology necessary to build a nuclear weapon has denied assisting its nuclear program, a Russian newspaper reported Thursday.
Russian Scientist Denies Iranian Nuclear Role, Kommersant Says
Henry Meyer, Bloomberg -- November 10, 2011
A Russian scientist denied helping Iran to develop a nuclear bomb following a U.S. media report about his suspected role, the Kommersant newspaper reported, citing an interview with the expert.
NORTH KOREA
South Korea Seeking Trilateral Talks on North
Global Security Newswire -- November 9, 2011
South Korea is pushing to meet with Japan and the United States so that the three allies can align their respective postures for responding to the North Korean nuclear impasse, Kyodo News reported on Wednesday.
LIBYA
Desert chief says al-Qaida branch got Libyan arms
Ahmed Mohamed, Associated Press -- November 10, 2011
A desert chief with al-Qaida's North Africa branch has confirmed fears that his terror organization procured weapons from stockpiles left unguarded in Libya after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi.
