Nuclear Policy News – February 3, 2010

FISSILE MATERIAL
Ahmadinejad backs deal to remove bulk of enriched uranium from Iran
WP by Thomas Erdbrink and Glenn Kessler

China unlikely to block Iran sanctions
WP by Steven R. Hurst (AP)

U.S., Russia Close In on Nuclear Treaty
WSJ by Jonathan Weisman

Obama budget seeks 13.4 percent increase for National Nuclear Security Administration
WP by Walter Pincus

EAST ASIA
1. US Official: NKorea Must Return To Nuke Talks
AP
North Korea's return to the nuclear disarmament process is an essential next step before any discussions about political and economic concessions can begin, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.

2. North Korea Could Have Nuclear Missiles in 10 Years, U.S. Says
GSN
North Korea could develop the capacity to attach nuclear warheads to ballistic missiles in the next 10 years, according to a U.S. Defense Department report released yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 1).

MIDDLE EAST
3. Ahmadinejad backs deal to remove bulk of enriched uranium from Iran
WP by Thomas Erdbrink and Glenn Kessler
A long-dormant proposal to remove the bulk of Iran's enriched uranium from the Islamic republic appeared to be revived Tuesday as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran had "no problem" with a deal initially brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

4. New Iran sanctions needed - Brown
BBC
Gordon Brown has called for further sanctions against Iran as a test of the international community's "strength".

5. Six powers to talk in a few days on Iran: US
AFP
The United States said Tuesday it hopes to consult with China and four other powers in a few days about Iran's nuclear ambitions in a bid to narrow the gap with Beijing over the need for sanctions.

6. In Response to Iran’s Nuclear Program, German Firms Are Slowly Pulling Out
NYT by Judy Dempsey
German companies, long Iran’s biggest trading partners in Europe, are finding it increasingly difficult to do business there as the United States, Israel and others campaign for tougher United Nations sanctions in response to the country’s nuclear program.

7. Iran says launches satellite rocket
Reuters by Parisa Hafezi and Reza Derakhshi
Iran said on Wednesday it had launched a Kavoshgar-3 rocket capable of carrying a satellite -- a move that may add to Western concern about Tehran's nuclear programme.

SOUTH ASIA

RUSSIA/FSU/EUROPE
8. U.S., Russia Close In on Nuclear Treaty
WSJ by Jonathan Weisman
U.S. and Russian arms-control negotiators have reached an "agreement in principle" on the first nuclear-arms-reduction treaty in nearly two decades, administration and arms-control officials said Tuesday.

9. Russia, U.S. lawmakers to coordinate new arms reduction deal
RIA Novosti
A senior Russian lawmaker will fly to the United States on Wednesday to prepare a coordinated ratification of a new strategic arms reduction treaty.

MULTILATERAL ARMS CONTROL AND NONPROLIFERATION
10. Disarmament talks strained over Mideast, Russia
WP by Angela Charlton (AP)
Tensions over nuclear weapons in the Middle East and over Russia's tactical arsenal tangled talks Tuesday aimed at pushing for global nuclear disarmament.

U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS STRATEGY AND POLICY
11. Obama budget seeks 13.4 percent increase for National Nuclear Security Administration
WP by Walter Pincus
President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget blueprint calls for an increase in funding of more than 13 percent for the agency that oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, a greater percentage increase than for any other government agency.

12. Air Force Global Strike Command gains three bomber bases
Air Force Link
Air Force Global Strike Command assumed responsibility for all long-range, nuclear-capable bombers Feb. 1 as its commander commemorated the occasion by visiting the Air Force's three bomber units, in three different states, on the same day.

OPINIONS
13. What could help the new START Treaty?
RIA Novosti by Andrei Fedyashin
Russian sources in Geneva expect the new START Treaty to be ready by February 27. The two countries have been trying since last May to find a mutually acceptable arrangement to legally document a limit on the number of U.S. and Russian nuclear delivery vehicles and warheads.

14. How Obama could change the game on Iran
CSM by Christian DeFrancia 
Despite President Obama’s initial policy of engagement toward Iran, the outstretched US hand is now looking more like an index finger.

15. Analysis: China unlikely to block Iran sanctions
WP by Steven R. Hurst (AP)
The United States opens a critical international campaign this month to punish Iran for its nuclear program, and U.S. officials and China experts believe Beijing - despite heated anti-U.S. rhetoric of recent days - won't stand in the way.

16. US ups the ante in Iran nuclear game
Asia Times by Mohammed A. Salih
The recent expansion of United States missile defense systems in the Persian Gulf just days after President Barack Obama warned Iran of "growing consequences" if it did not accept the West's conditions over its nuclear program, signals a possible change of approach by Washington even as uncertainty still prevails over how it will eventually deal with Iran.
 
17. Toward a Secure Middle East
NYT by Amr Moussa
In my opinion a secure Middle East requires full appreciation of the past, a full understanding of the present and a vision for the future.