Nonproliferation News - November 20, 2009

FISSILE MATERIAL
ElBaradei urges Iran to agree fuel deal by year end
Reuters by Dave Graham

Outlook for tough Iran sanctions is dim
AP by Robert Burns

IAEA inspectors revisit disputed Iran nuclear site
Reuters by Mark Heinrich

Panel Sees No Need for A-Bomb Upgrade
NYT by William J. Broad

EAST ASIA
1. US Envoy to Visit N. Korea on Dec. 8
Korea Times
U.S. President Barack Obama announced Thursday he would send U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth to North Korea for direct talks on December 8, naming a date for the mission for the first time.

2. This time, promises alone may not feed North Korea
WP by Blaine Harden
For the Obama administration, North Korea has followed a familiar script. It has made trouble, exploding a nuclear device. It has made nice, inviting U.S. officials to visit. And it has made a mess of growing food, needing handouts from the rich countries it threatens.

MIDDLE EAST
3. ElBaradei urges Iran to agree fuel deal by year end
Reuters by Dave Graham
The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief urged Iran on Friday to accept an offer to process its enriched uranium abroad by the end of 2009, and advised Western powers not to impose further sanctions on Tehran.

4. World leaders to meet on Iran's failure to halt nuclear program
WP by William Branigin and Thomas Erdbrink
Iran lashed out Thursday against a new warning from President Obama of tougher sanctions over its nuclear program, dismissing such measures as out of date and threatening a resolute response to U.S. "deception and mischief."

5. World powers weigh new sanctions for Iran
AP by Charles Hutzler and Slobodan Lekic
President Barack Obama said Thursday that the six nations dealing with Iran's nuclear program will develop a package of serious new punitive measures in coming weeks. The European Union said the six would gather immediately to begin consultations.

6. Turkey presses Iran on uranium compromise
RIA Novosti
Turkey will continue efforts to persuade Iran to ship its low-enriched uranium abroad to allay international fears over its nuclear ambitions, the foreign minister said on Thursday.

7. France Rejects Iran's New Demand on Nuclear Program
Xinhua
France would not accept any new demand from Iran over its nuclear program, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, a day after the Islamic republic rejected an international proposal to resolve the issue.

8. IAEA inspectors revisit disputed Iran nuclear site
Reuters by Mark Heinrich
U.N. inspectors revisited Iran's second uranium enrichment facility on Thursday, diplomats said, after voicing concern that Tehran's belated disclosure of the nuclear site meant more may be hidden away.

9. Defense Ministers to Discuss Iran, Proliferation at Security Conference
GSN
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and his counterparts from several other nations are expected to discuss nuclear proliferation, Iran and other international issues at a security conference next week in Canada, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Sept. 9).

SOUTH ASIA

RUSSIA/FSU

EUROPE

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

MISCELLANEOUS
10. Panel Sees No Need for A-Bomb Upgrade
NYT by William J. Broad
In a new report, a secretive federal panel has concluded that programs to extend the life of the nation’s aging nuclear arms are sufficient to guarantee their destructiveness for decades to come, obviating a need for a costly new generation of more reliable warheads.

11. Group Warns Biosecurity Bill Could Burden Scientific Research
GSN by Martin Matishak
Mandates included in new federal legislation could impair the ability of U.S. laboratories to conduct important biodefense research, according to a leading U.S. science organization (see GSN, Nov. 5).

OPINION
12. Analysis: Outlook for tough Iran sanctions is dim
AP by Robert Burns
The Obama administration is shifting the focus of its Iran policy from talk to sanctions, but the prospect of winning early international support for toughened new penalties appears dim.

13. Talking tactics for the US on Iran
Guardian by Massoumeh Torfeh
As Iran continues to play hide and seek in its response to a nuclear deal supposedly agreed in Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency demands more clarity on Iran's nuclear plans.

14. From Russia with disdain
Washington Times by Henry Sokolski
In Washington, it's almost impossible to underestimate how blase officials can become about the most hair-raising news if it involves an entity they believe the U.S. must do business with. Consider Capitol Hill and executive-branch reaction to news of continued Russian assistance to Iran's nuclear weapons program. Rather than open a debate about what Moscow is up to, most officials have been in one or another form of denial. This is a mistake. In fact, the latest evidence suggests Russia is trying to play both us and Iran.