Georgetown Security Law Brief

UN nuclear agency reports failed Iran talks

02/22/12: Mercury News reports that the UN nuclear agency says its experts have again failed to dent Iran's refusal to cooperate in probing allegations that Tehran covertly worked on an atomic arms program. An International Atomic Energy Agency statement says Iran refused an IAEA request for access to a site where the agency suspects explosives testing related to a nuclear weapon took place. It also says that despite "intensive efforts," no agreement was reached on how to relaunch the probe, which has been stalled for nearly four years.

US, North Korea to hold first post-Kim Jong Il talks

02/22/12: ABC News reports that the US and North Korea will reopen nuclear talks Thursday that will provide a glimpse into where Pyongyang's opaque government is heading after Kim Jong Il's death and test its readiness to dismantle nuclear programs for much-needed aid. The countries were on the verge of a deal to have Washington provide food in return for Pyongyang suspending uranium enrichment when it was upended by the longtime leader's death on December 17.

Iran says UN nuke inspectors will not visit sites

02/21/12: The Denver Post reports that a UN team visiting Iran has no plans to inspect the country's nuclear facilities and will only hold talks with officials in Tehran, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday. The remarks by Ramin Mehmanparast cast doubt on how much the UN inspectors would be able to gauge whether Iran is moving ahead with its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons.  The two-day visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency team, which started Monday, is the second in less than a month amid growing concerns over alleged Iranian weapons experiments.

Iran says Stuxnet virus infected 16,000 computers

02/18/12: The Boston Globe reports that a senior Iranian intelligence official says an estimated 16,000 computers were infected by the Stuxnet virus. The powerful virus targeted Iran's nuclear facilities and other industrial sites in 2010, and Tehran has acknowledged the malicious software affected a limited number of centrifuges -- a key component in nuclear fuel production. Iran has said its scientists discovered and neutralized the malware before it could cause serious damage, but also said it is facing difficulties obtaining anti-malware software because of international sanctions, forcing Iran to use its own experts to design the software.

Search for nuclear waste dump could last up to 20 years

01/27/12: CNN reports that three years after the Obama administration killed controversial plans to store the nation's nuclear waste permanently at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a presidential commission has declared that the nation needs to adopt a "consent-based approach" to position disposal facilities, gaining the approval of any community before moving forward with future sites. Such an approach -- which may include "substantial incentives" for a community, if necessary -- would be frustratingly slow, the commission conceded, suggesting it could take five to 10 years to find a temporary nuclear storage site and 15 to 20 years to identify a permanent one.

UN Secretary General urges disarmament body to get to work

01/24/12: ABC News reports that the United Nations' secretary-general is appealing to the world's main nuclear disarmament forum to get down to work after years of deadlock, warning it that it is "in danger of sinking." Ban Ki-moon's message to the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament came as it held its first meeting of 2012. The body hasn't produced anything substantial since the 1996 nuclear test-ban treaty.

IAEA rejects Iran accusation over scientist's killing

01/21/12: Reuters reports that the UN nuclear watchdog said it did not know an Iranian scientist who was killed last week, rejecting Tehran's suggestions it may have been partly to blame for his death by leaking information about him. The International Atomic Energy Agency, separately also confirmed that its senior officials would travel to Tehran later this month for rare talks about the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program.

New index ranks countries on nuclear security

01/11/12: The Washington Post reports that more than 10 years after the attacks of September 11, the possibility that terrorist groups could obtain nuclear materials seems no less real to security experts, even as the threat posed by al-Qaeda recedes. On Wednesday, a Washington-based group that seeks to reduce global threats from nuclear weapons released a first-ever scorecard on the security of nuclear materials worldwide, ranking 32 countries on criteria such as their commitments to global norms, known security measures and other factors including corruption and government instability.

Russia says nuclear submarine fire has been doused, no radiation leak

12/30/11: The Washington Post reports that firefighters extinguished a massive fire aboard a docked Russian nuclear submarine Friday as some crew members remained inside, officials said, giving assurances that there was no radiation leak and the vessel’s nuclear-tipped missiles were not on board. Military prosecutors have launched an investigation into whether safety regulations were breached. President Dmitry Medvedev summoned top Cabinet officials to report on the situation and demanded punishment for anyone found responsible.

Debate over whether the US will spend $700 billion on nuclear weapons

11/30/11: The Washington Post reports that in recent weeks a fierce fight has broken out in the nuclear world over an estimate issued by Ploughshares Fund—a foundation focused on nuclear policy—that the US will spend $700 billion over the next ten years on “nuclear weapons and related programs.” That estimate has stuck and become part of the public discourse, appearing in the recent advertisement and a letter by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.). The administration of President Obama—who won a Nobel Peace Prize in part for calling for a world without nuclear weapons—has flatly rejected the $700 billion figure.

US, Russia and UK back Israel at Mideast meeting

11/22/11: The Houston Chronicle reports that, in a boost to Israel, Russia joined the US and Britain on Tuesday in backing the Jewish state's view that the Middle East cannot be turned into a nuclear arms-free zone without progress on regional peace. The three nations — who are charged with registering new members to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty — also blunted Arab efforts to get them involved creating such a zone, telling an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting that was the sole responsibility of countries in the region.

Russian military chief warns of nuclear war risks

11/18/11: CBS News reports that, according to its top military officer, Russia is facing a heightened risk of being drawn into conflicts at its borders that have the potential of turning nuclear. General Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, cautioned over NATO's expansion eastward and warned that the risks of Russia being pulled into local conflicts have "risen sharply." Makarov added, according to Russian news agencies, that "under certain conditions local and regional conflicts may develop into a full-scale war involving nuclear weapons."

Opinion: Thinking outside of the cold war box

11/15/11: The Washington Post reports that further reductions in nuclear weapons beyond those agreed to in the New START agreement with Russia are being discussed within the Obama administration as part of the Defense Department review of future spending. Maybe it is time for thinking outside what is still a Cold War nuclear box, which focuses on the United States having enough secure nuclear weapons to deter some other country from using theirs against America or its allies, today or in the future.

Iran exile group claims blast hits missile base

11/13/11: The Boston Globe reports that an Iranian exile group claimed Saturday that a blast near Tehran hit a missile base run by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, disputing the Iranian government's account that it occurred at an ammunition depot. Former Mujahedin-e Khalq spokesman Alireza Jafarzadeh, citing what he called reliable sources inside Iran, said that the explosion hit the Modarres Garrison of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps west of Tehran. The group, also known as the MEK, has in the past disclosed the sites of several key Iranian nuclear installations as well as details of their operations.