Although Iran and North Korea have received far more attention, Syria is belatedly becoming a prime focus of international concern over nuclear proliferation. On December 1, the Institute for Science and International Security released satellite photos of suspected Syrian nuclear sites linked to the covert Al-Kibar nuclear reactor that Israeli warplanes bombed in 2007, shortly before it could begin operations. The CIA later confirmed that the site contained a North Korean–designed nuclear reactor that would have been capable of producing plutonium for nuclear weapons. Syria blocked inspectors from the International …
President Barack Obama made waves during his trip to India by telling the Indian parliament that “in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed United Nations Security Council that includes India as a permanent member.” This simple, vague statement has become the headline for his entire visit with U.S. and Indian media declaring that “Obama supports adding India as a permanent member of U.N. Security Council” and “Obama Backs India Bid for UN Security Council Seat” and “Obama backs UNSC bid, slams Pakistan.” The statement made news because …
Iran’s embattled regime Saturday announced that it is ready to resume talks about Iran’s illicit nuclear activities, which have triggered four rounds of U.N. sanctions. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that “We think late October or early November will be an appropriate date for the talks by the representatives of Iran and 5+1 countries,” (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany). The U.N.-sponsored talks had stalled last October after Tehran rejected an offer to exchange some of its low enriched uranium stocks for more highly enriched …
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently stated that there is no proof that Iran is building nuclear weapons. The Russian Federation has held this position for a long time. However, Lavrov apparently has not heard what his boss, president Dmitry Medvedev said—and did—on this matter. Moscow voted in favor of all the four rounds of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on Iran aimed at pressuring the country to stop its nuclear weapons program. Russia also joined the ban on supplying arms and military aircraft to Iran. Significantly, the Kremlin …
In anticipation of President Obama’s second address to the United Nations this week, the White House has published a lengthy press release titled “Advancing U.S. Interests at the United Nations” that lists the achievements of the administration at the United Nations. The motivation behind the press release is that those achievements are not being given their due in the eyes of the White House. This is, however, entirely fitting because the achievements are themselves not really notable. In brief, the administration’s list of claimed U.N. accomplishments includes: U.N. Security Council …
North Korea’s status as an international pariah is richly deserved. The country is a proliferator of nuclear technology having helped build a Syrian nuclear site that was destroyed by Israel and is believed to be assisting Burma in its own clandestine nuclear program. North Korea successfully detonated two nuclear devices on October 9, 2006, and May 25, 2009 and the U.S. believes North Korea has enough plutonium for at least half a dozen nuclear weapons. The regime has been striving to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering these …
It seems that weak negotiating with Russia is becoming a habit for the Obama Administration. After signing a one-sided arms control deal with Russia on April 8th, the Administration is now touting a new United Nations Security Council Resolution that imposes a new round of sanctions on Iran in response to Iran’s ongoing nuclear program. The problem for the Obama Administration regarding the new Resolution is that it had to acquiesce to Russian demands that Russia’s trade with Iran not be impinged. This apparently includes in the area of arms …
As the U.N. Security Council finally prepares to vote on the long-awaited Iran sanctions resolution, Tehran has escalated its efforts to undermine sanctions efforts. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned today that if a fourth round of sanctions is imposed, Iran will drop its nuclear fuel swap deal with Brazil and Turkey and rule out future talks on the nuclear issue. Ahmadinejad whined: “I have said that the US government and its allies are mistaken if they think they can brandish the stick of resolution and then sit down to talk with …
The sham agreement signed on May 17 by Iran with Brazil and Turkey to swap low enriched uranium for fuel for the Tehran research reactor has been widely exposed as little more than Iranian effort to divide and confuse the international community and buy time for the construction of a nuclear weapon. Iran, aided and abetted by the leaders of Brazil and Turkey, structured the deal to give the illusion of diplomatic progress without addressing the core issue involved in Iran’s nuclear defiance: Iran continues to enrich uranium in flagrant …
Although it remains to be seen whether Iran’s latest diplomatic ploy, assisted by Turkey and Brazil, will actually lead to any lasting agreement on a nuclear fuel swap, Tehran’s recent behavior teaches several lessons, according to Patrick Clawson, a leading Iran expert based at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. First, Iran reacts to international pressure but not so much to inducements. Iran’s resurrection of a mutated October deal that it previously had rejected undoubtedly was triggered by the imminent passage of a fourth U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution. …
