Nuclear Policy News – February 4, 2010

FISSILE MATERIAL
Iran seeking nuke compromise — or is it?
AP by George Jahn

Petraeus says strike on Iran could spark nationalism
Reuters by Phil Stewart

Russia ready for dialogue with EU over tactical nukes, but that it cannot get through to its partners – Lavrov
Itar-Tass

US Nuclear Weapons Site in Europe Breached
FAS Strategic Security Blog by Hans M. Kristensen

EAST ASIA
1. US official: NKorea must return to nuke talks
AP by Jean H. Lee
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. Peace treaty the best route to denuclearization: DPRK state media
Xinhua
The conclusion of a peace treaty would push forward the Korean peninsula's denuclearization process, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) official KCNA news agency said Wednesday.

3. Obama rules out relisting N. Korea as state sponsor of terrorism 
Yonhap by Hwang Doo-hyong
U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that his administration will not relist North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism as part of possible additional sanctions on the nuclear-armed communist state.

MIDDLE EAST
4. Iran seeking nuke compromise — or is it?
AP by George Jahn
Iran's effort to revive talks on a deal that would inhibit the country's ability to make a nuclear weapon was met with skepticism by world leaders Wednesday, a reaction to months of waffling by Tehran.

5. Iran urged to follow up on nuclear U-turn
AFP by Andrew Gully
The United States and key allies urged Iran Wednesday to follow up on a surprise U-turn from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by formally committing to a UN-brokered deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.

6. Iran's nuclear agency chief: No uranium export plan finalized
CNN
Iran's atomic energy chief said Wednesday that no deal has been struck to export uranium for enrichment abroad, a demand of Western nations worried that Tehran plans to use its program to build nuclear weapons.

7. Brazil Not In Talks To Enrich Iran's Uranium -Foreign Minister
WSJ by Gerald Jeffris (Dow Jones)
Brazil's government hasn't held talks with Iran to enrich low-grade uranium from that country, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said Wednesday.

8. Iran government survival hinges on nuclear issue: Israel
WP by Allyn Fisher-Ilan (Reuters)
World powers trying to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear program must make clear to the leadership in Tehran that its survival is at stake, a senior Israeli official said Wednesday.

9. Factbox: West pushes for new sanctions against Iran
Reuters
The United States, Britain, France and Germany are exchanging ideas on a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment program as demanded by the Security Council.

10. Discussing Iran sanctions hinders diplomacy - China
Reuters
Discussions amongst world powers over imposing possible sanctions on Iran will complicate the situation and might make it harder to find a diplomatic solution, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Thursday.

11. Petraeus says strike on Iran could spark nationalism
Reuters by Phil Stewart
A military strike on Iran could have the unintended consequence of stirring nationalist sentiment to the benefit of Tehran's hard-line government, U.S. General David Petraeus told Reuters.

12. Australia blocks Iran shipments over weapons fears: PM
AFP
Australia has blocked three cargo shipments to Iran under laws aimed at preventing nuclear proliferation, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Thursday.

13. Guyana opposition slams Iran uranium deal
Reuters by Neil Marks
Guyana's opposition leaders said on Wednesday the government may be helping Iran enrich uranium and damaging ties with the United States with a plan to have Iran map the South American country's mineral resources.

SOUTH ASIA
14. US certifies India-IAEA Safeguards Agreement on civil n-facilities
Economic Times
In yet another step towards full implementation of the India-US civil nuclear deal, President Barack Obama has certified that India
has placed its nuclear facilities under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.

15. Pakistani N-arsenal safe but vulnerable: US
Dawn
The United States believes Pakistan can protect its nuclear weapons but vulnerabilities remain, according to the director of the US Defence Intelligence Agency.

RUSSIA/FSU/EUROPE
16. Russia ready for dialogue with EU over tactical nukes, but that it cannot get through to its partners – Lavrov
Itar-Tass
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow is ready for any dialogue over security issues, such as tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, but that it cannot get through to its partners.

MULTILATERAL ARMS CONTROL AND NONPROLIFERATION
17. NPT Review Conference Workshop Held in Philippines
GSN
A two-day workshop focused on global nuclear disarmament efforts was conducted this week in the Philippines in preparation for the upcoming Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, Jan. 8).

U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS STRATEGY AND POLICY
18. US Nuclear Weapons Site in Europe Breached
FAS Strategic Security Blog by Hans M. Kristensen
A group of people last week managed to penetrate deep onto Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium where the U.S. Air Force currently deploys 10-20 nuclear bombs.

OPINIONS
19. The lessons of Iraq have been ignored. The target is now Iran
The Guardian by Seumas Milne
We were ­supposed to have learned the lessons of the Iraq war. That's what Britain's ­Chilcot inquiry is meant to be all about. But the signs from the Middle East are that it could be happening all over again. The US is ­escalating the military build-up in the Gulf, officials revealed this week, boosting its naval presence and supplying tens of billions of dollars' worth of new weapons systems to allied Arab states.