Nuclear Policy News – February 5, 2010

FISSILE MATERIAL
Iran has not yet informed IAEA of nuclear deal, say diplomats
Deutsche Presse-Agentur

China could block sanctions against Iran
WP by Glenn Kessler

Russia says US tactical nukes must be withdrawn from Europe - FM
Itar-Tass

U.S., Russia called on to reduce nuclear warheads to 1,000
Xinhua

EAST ASIA
1. Chinese official to visit N. Korea on mission to resume nuclear talks 
Yonhap
A senior official of China's Communist Party is set to visit North Korea next week apparently on a mission to help resume stalled talks on ending the North's nuclear program, informed sources in Beijing said Friday.

2. U.S. to continue monitoring N. Korea's proliferation for possible relisting: State Dept. 
Yonhap by Hwang Doo-hyong
The United States Thursday expressed concerns about North Korea's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, warning of a possible relisting of it as a state sponsor of terrorism.

MIDDLE EAST
3. Iran has not yet informed IAEA of nuclear deal, say diplomats
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Iran has not yet formally told the nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it would accept a nuclear deal brokered by the agency - despite affirmative comments made by the Iranian President, diplomats in Vienna said Thursday. Western governments have urged Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to contact the IAEA to follow up on his comments earlier this week that he is ready to send low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing.

4. Iran seeks nuclear cooperation, not face-off: envoy
AFP
Iran’s envoy to the UN atomic watchdog said on Thursday that Tehran wants cooperation, not confrontation, over a nuclear fuel swap, the state-run Arabic channel Al-Alam television reported.

5. Iran using tricks on nuclear program: German ForMin
Reuters
Iran has been using delaying tactics instead of taking action to resolve the dispute over its nuclear program, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Friday.

6. Iran strong enough without nuclear weapons - ambassador
RIA Novosti
Iran has no plans to develop nuclear weapons because the country is strong enough to protect its interests without them, the Iranian ambassador to Russia said on Thursday.

7. China could block sanctions against Iran
WP by Glenn Kessler
China on Thursday threw a roadblock in the path of a U.S.-led push for sanctions against Iran, saying that it is important to continue negotiations as long as Iran appears willing to consider a deal to give up some of its enriched uranium.

8. Russia, West closer on Iran sanctions: lawmaker
Reuters by Steve Gutterman and Conor Sweeney
Russia and Western powers have moved closer to agreement on the need for further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, a leading Russian lawmaker said on Thursday.

SOUTH ASIA
9. UK, India near accord on civil nuclear cooperation
Economic Times
Britain and India have reached an outline agreement on nuclear energy cooperation and are looking at expanding ties in defence manufacturing, British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said.

RUSSIA/FSU/EUROPE
10. Russia says US tactical nukes must be withdrawn from Europe - FM
Itar-Tass
US tactical nuclear arms should be withdrawn from Europe, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said on Thursday.

11. US hopes to clinch nuclear treaty with Russia 'fairly quickly'
AFP
The United States said Thursday it is optimistic about completing negotiations "fairly quickly" with Russia for a new treaty to slash their nuclear weapons stockpiles.

12. U.S., Russia called on to reduce nuclear warheads to 1,000
Xinhua
The United States and Russia were called on Thursday to reduce their nuclear warheads to 1,000 each, as the two began their negotiations on a successor treaty to the expired Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) this week.

MULTILATERAL ARMS CONTROL AND NONPROLIFERATION

U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS STRATEGY AND POLICY

OPINIONS
13. Iran Nukes Deal: What if Ahmadinejad Is Serious?
Time by Tony Karon
Conventional wisdom on Iran's latest response to a deal over shipping out enriched uranium is that Tehran is simply maneuvering to dodge sanctions. After all, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comment Tuesday that Iran would have "no problem" shipping out some of its stockpile in exchange for reactor fuel comes months after he first welcomed the deal, and then demanded that it be renegotiated. And it coincides with the Obama Administration going to the mat to press for new sanctions against Iran. Still, even though Iran has long been adept at dividing international opinion and rolling back the red lines of its adversaries, there may be more to the latest indications out of Tehran than simply posturing.

14. Between the bomb and the barricades
FT by Philip Stephens
There are two stories about Iran. The more familiar is the confrontation with the west over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The more important may be the rising domestic opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. The puzzle is to work out how the two connect.

15. Another puzzle
Economist
UNDER pressure at home and abroad, Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is unbowed. The latest test of a satellite-capable rocket, “manned” by a hapless mouse, two turtles and an assortment of worms (accompanied by a promise soon to put a man into space) was no doubt aimed at repairing the president’s image with ordinary Iranians. They have been angered by the crackdown that has landed many in jail and some on the gallows since his disputed re-election last June.

16. Iran launches new phase in nuclear crisis
Asia Times by Kaveh L. Afrasiabi
On the same day Iran launched a rocket named Simorgh (Phoenix) into space, Tehran pulled its diplomatic engagement with the West back from the brink, saying it was prepared to accept a nuclear "fuel-for-fuel" proposal and exchange three Americans held in Iran with Iranians imprisoned in the United States.

17. Prepare for a Nuclear Iran
National Interest by Paul J. Saunders
Everyone wants a silver bullet to resolve America’s policy dilemmas in dealing with Iran and its nuclear ambitions. Unfortunately, none of the popular candidates—engagement, military action, sanctions or regime change—seems sufficiently likely to succeed to be the basis of prudent government policy when vital U.S. national interests are at stake. Instead of hoping for a silver bullet that will make the problem go away, or at least push it down the road, policy makers should start to develop a serious plan to manage the most likely future: an unreformed and nuclear-capable Iran.