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  America's nuclear deal with India: Time to decide
  India should have no exemption from the world's nuclear rules

Invisible Nuclear Threat - Washington Times opinion

A Secondary Role for U.S. in India's Nuclear Future
Rama Lakshmi, The Washington Post Four months before India shocked the world by conducting underground nuclear tests in 1998, French President Jacques Chirac visited India, bringing along 100 business leaders and meeting with Indian policymakers and industrialists.

At one meeting, Chirac surprised the Indians: "He said, 'France would fully understand if India conducted nuclear tests. We will be with you,' " recalled Tarun Das, chief mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry, a business lobby that received the French delegates.

Averting a Nonproliferation Disaster Daryl G. Kimball, Arms Control Today
Decision time has arrived on the controversial proposal to roll back three decades of nuclear trade restrictions on India, which violated peaceful nuclear cooperation agreements by detonating its first nuclear bomb in 1974.

• 45 Questions for the Record on the U.S.-India 123 Agreement

Australia Reconsiders Nuclear Deal with Russia
Agence France-Presse Australia is reconsidering a pact to sell uranium to Russia following its military push into Georgia, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith warned on Monday.

Iran Says 4,000 Atomic Centrifuges Working: Report
Hashem Kalantari, Reuters Iran has 4,000 working nuclear centrifuges, an official said in remarks published on Friday, in line with a number verified by the U.N. atomic watchdog but lower than a figure cited by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Russia May Push Forward with S-300 Sales to Iran
RIA Novosti Russia may proceed with plans to sell advanced S-300 air defense systems to Iran under a secret contract believed to have been signed in 2005, a Russian analyst said on Monday.

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Iran, Nigeria to Share Peaceful Nuclear Technology
Bashir Adigun, Associated Press An Iranian trade delegation announced an agreement Thursday for Iran to share peaceful nuclear technology with Nigeria, to help Africa's biggest oil producer bolster its woeful electricity-generation capacity.

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Brazil Spending $160M on Nuclear Propelled Sub
Bradley Brooks, Associated Press Brazil will spend US$160 million by the end of next year on the development of a nuclear-propelled submarine to protect the oil reserves found recently off its coast, the defense minister said Friday.

Last Chance: Nuclear Suppliers Group Sharon Squassoni, Proliferation Analysis This week, a group of forty-five countries has the last chance to prevent a deal which threatens to cause serious and long-lasting damage to the world's nuclear nonproliferation regime.

In a special meeting on August 1, the 35 representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors gathered in Vienna for the first of several meetings designed to push through nuclear trade with India before the end of the Bush administration and the Singh government. Several countries reportedly objected to elements of a new safeguards agreement designed to open some of India's nuclear facilities to international inspection.

• Minding the Gaps: U.S. & India Views on Nuclear Cooperation
• Text of Revised U.S. NSG Proposal on India

SKorea Says NKorea Restoring Nuclear Complex
Associated Press North Korea has moved disassembled parts of its main nuclear reactor back to the plutonium-producing facility in a step toward its restoration, South Korea's top diplomat said Thursday.

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White House Careful on Cutting Ties with Moscow
Nicholas Kralev and Bill Gertz, The Washington Times The Bush administration has ordered a review of U.S. defense cooperation programs with Russia but is not about to draw up "mindless lists" of penalties that could alienate the Russian people while leaving Moscow's troops in Georgia, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

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[b][i]Nuclear Nations Approve Disputed India Trade Waiver[/i][/b]

International Group Backs Nuclear Accord For US, India - Washington Post
Atomic Club Votes to End Restrictions on India - New York Times
International Alliance Approves US-India Nuclear Deal - Los Angeles Times

Russia's War Leads Administration to Drop One Objection to Iran Sanctions Bill

By Andrew Cochran


The Associated Press reports this morning that Secretary of State Rice has announced that the Administration will not pursue the U.S.-Russia civil nuclear cooperation agreement in light of Russia's invasion of Georgia. As the AP notes, Congress was probably unlikely to approve the agreement before it adjourns later the month and President Bush leaves office. But the action could move a new Iran sanctions bill one step closer to passage in Congress and approval by the President. As I posted on June 12, the agreement was the basis of one of two official Administration objections to a version of a new Iran sanctions bill which barred entry by the U.S. into the agreement. As Congress left for the August work period, there were two Senate versions of the bill, one of which did not include the bar objected to by the Administration.

Now that the Administration has dropped the attempt to pass the agreement, an Iran sanctions bill is one step closer to approval. But the Administration is still be opposed to bill language imposing extra-territorial sanctions on firms from other nations. Even if that objection were resolved soon, a final Senate bill would have to be reconciled with one or more House bills, and that's difficult given the shortened Congressional schedule due to the November elections.

September 6, 2008 11:59 AM Link

China minister reassures India over nuclear deal
Russia hits back at US freezing of nuclear accord
NKorea to stage massive parade to mark anniversary
Canadian think tank publishes nuclear guide
NKorea to stage largest ever parade to mark anniversary: reports
US-India nuclear deal faces final hurdle
End to India nuclear isolation opens huge market
Bush freezes nuclear pact with Russia over Georgia tension
North Korea moves toward restarting reactor: US
US: Prospects good for India nuclear pact

US postpones nuclear pact with Russia amid Georgia tension
Washington (AFP) Sept 8, 2008
US President George W. Bush decided Monday to postpone a US-Russia civilian nuclear pact, officials said, amid tensions over Moscow's military actions in neighboring Georgia. The announcement came as both the State Department and White House said Washington was watching Russia's plans to stage unprecedented joint naval maneuvers with Venezuela in Venezuelan waters. With moves toward new ... more

Top-level China, India talks amid nuclear deal tension
New Delhi (AFP) Sept 8, 2008
Asian giants India and China held high-level talks on Monday amid tension over Beijing's purported reluctance to back New Delhi's civilian nuclear ambitions. India has criticised Beijing for being unwilling to support a waiver that would enable New Delhi to trade with the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG), which controls global atomic commerce, without signing non-proliferation pacts. ... more

Japan, Australia defend backing India nuclear deal
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 8, 2008
Japan and Australia on Monday defended giving the green light to a landmark atomic energy deal with India, which critics charged has set back efforts to halt nuclear proliferation. China also voiced support for the agreement after dropping objections at the last minute in weekend talks in Vienna. After intense lobbying from Washington and New Delhi, the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group ... more

Iran nuclear reactor launch 'irreversible' by February: report
Moscow (AFP) Sept 8, 2008
The start-up of the first reactor at Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant will be "irreversible" by February next year, a senior Russian nuclear official was quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency as saying Monday. "Between December 2008 and February 2009 various technical measures will be carried out... that will make the physical start-up process of the first Bushehr reactor irreversible," the report ... more

Analysis: U.S. losing ground, sway to Iran
Washington (UPI) Sep 8, 2008
Iran seems to be gaining ground and influence in the Levant, much to the detriment of the United States, its European allies and pro-democracy movements in the region. Indeed, recent developments in the Middle East have not unfolded entirely in favor of the United States or its other ally in the region, Lebanon. At the same time, efforts by the West to break up the Syrian-Iranian ... more

A Bad Deal The New York Times President Bush has failed to achieve so many of his foreign policy goals, but last weekend he proved that he can still get what he really wants. The administration bullied and wheedled international approval of the president's ill-conceived nuclear deal with India.

The decision by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (which sets rules for nuclear trade) means that for the first time in more than 30 years — since New Delhi used its civilian nuclear program to produce a bomb — the world can sell nuclear fuel and technology to India.

• Final Version of NSG Statement on India
• Atomic Club Votes to End Restrictions on India
• Goodbye to Nuclear Export Controls

Top U.S. Democrat to Try to Pass India Nuclear Deal
Arshad Mohammed, Reuters Top U.S. Senate Democrat Harry Reid will work to win approval this year of an accord to end a three-decade ban on nuclear trade with India, which President George W. Bush submitted to Congress on Wednesday.

The last hurdle for the deal is Congress, and Reid, the Senate majority leader will try to push the deal through this year, according to his spokesman Jim Manley, despite a truncated legislative schedule and other concerns.

• Deal Likely to Do More Harm Than Good for NSG, IAEA
• Frequently Asked Questions about India, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and Next Steps

U.S. Accuses Iran Shipper of Nuclear Aid
Louise Radnofsky and Chip Cummins, The Wall Street Journal The U.S. Treasury Department accused Iran's national maritime carrier of helping the country's nuclear and missile programs, a formal move designed to pressure Iran amid stalled talks over its nuclear work.

N. Korea Has Quietly Built Long-Range Missile Base
Pamela Hess, Associated Press North Korea has quietly built a long-range missile base that is larger and more capable than an older and well-known launch pad for intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to independent analysts relying on new satellite images of the site and other data. Analysts provided images of the previously secret site to The Associated Press.

In WMD Report, U.S. Gets a C Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post Seven years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the federal government has made only limited progress toward preventing a catastrophic nuclear, biological or chemical attack on U.S. soil and combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction abroad, according to a report card to be issued tomorrow by 22 former U.S. officials.

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Nuclear Weapons Proliferation

Nuclear Know-how Made Easy, Report on Libya Shows - Los Angeles Times
Nuclear Ring Was More Advanced Than Thought, UN Says - Washington Post

Iran refusing to suspend Uranium enrichment: IAEA

Nuclear Ring Was More Advanced Than Thought, U.N. Says
Joby Warrick, The Washington Post The nuclear smuggling ring headed by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan possessed a broader range of secret nuclear designs than was previously known and shared them electronically among members of the network, a U.N. watchdog group said yesterday.

• IAEA Report on Libya (PDF)

Iran Says "No"—Now What?
George Perkovich, Carnegie Policy Brief
Mahmoud AhmadinejadA new IAEA report says that Iran continues to defy UN Security Council resolutions and enrich uranium while refusing to answer IAEA questions regarding possible weaponization activities. If the United States is to induce Iran to halt enrichment activities, both the costs of defiance and the benefits of cooperation must be greater, warns George Perkovich in a new policy brief. Perkovich explains that the United States should pursue a revised strategy showing Iran’s leaders that the more they advance enrichment capabilities, the less valuable cessation of those activities becomes for negotiating incentives packages.

* U.N. Agency at 'Dead End' as Iran Rejects Queries on Nuclear Research
* IAEA Report on Iran: Centrifuge Operation Significantly Improving; Gridlock on Alleged Weaponization Issues (PDF)
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publicati...ew&id=22115

• Top U.S. Democrat to Try to Pass India Nuclear Deal (Reuters)
• U.S. Accuses Iran Shipper of Nuclear Aid (Wall Street Journal)
• N. Korea Has Quietly Built Long-Range Missile Base (Associated Press)
• In WMD Report, U.S. Gets a C (Washington Post)
• Correcting the Record: Arms Experts Respond to Secretary Rice's Claims about Bush Administration Nuclear Control Accomplishments (Arms Control Association)

Frequently Asked Questions about India, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and Next Steps
By Sharon Squassoni

On September 6, 2008, the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group decided by consensus to allow nuclear trade with India. Such trade had been prohibited since 1992, when the NSG adopted a requirement for full-scope safeguards for trade with non-nuclear weapon states. This effectively cut off cooperation for India, Pakistan and Israel.


Book Review: Nuclear Safeguards, Security, and Nonproliferation: Achieving Security with Technology and Policy
By Nima Gerami

Nuclear Safeguards, Security, and Nonproliferation: Achieving Security with Technology and Policy is the first to bridge nuclear technology and policy in this era and the most comprehensive reference to date on the technologies used to trace, track, and safeguard nuclear material. Interested researchers and practitioners of any level would do well to use it to gain valuable insight into an important and complicated field. One can only hope they do.

NNSA Unveils New Nuclear Nonproliferation Program Full Story

Kim Remains in Control in North Korea, South Says Full Story

Military's RRW Alternative Is Warhead Life Extension Full Story

Draft House Markup Adds $9 Million for Fast Strike Full Story

NSG to Informally Ban Key Nuclear Sales to India Full Story

Nuclear Trade With India OK'd Full Story

IAEA Completes Libya Investigation Full Story

Nunn, Bloomberg Warn of Growing Nuclear Terror Risk Full Story

Abolishing Nuclear Weapons [Perkovich, Adelphi Paper] Nuclear Nonproliferation [Goldschmidt, Lecture]

U.S.-India Nuclear Relations U.S.-India Nuclear Deal The U.S.-India draft nuclear cooperation agreement passed another key hurdle on September 6 when the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) decided to resume nuclear trade with India after a 15-year hiatus. Before trade with the United States can resume, however, the U.S. Congress must approve the draft agreement. Sharon Squassoni explains the implications of the recent NSG decision on the nonproliferation regime and highlights the potential hurdles for rapid Congressional approval. Nuclear Safeguards:
Missed Opportunity: Nuclear Suppliers Group India, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and Next Steps U.S. & India Views on Nuclear Coope

Photos seen alleging Iran nuclear missile work



By Mark Heinrich

VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog showed documents and photographs on Tuesday suggesting Iran secretly tried to modify a missile cone to fit a nuclear bomb, diplomats said, and Tehran again dismissed the findings as forged.

Iran said an International Atomic Energy Agency inquiry into its nuclear activity was at a dead-end because the IAEA was demanding Tehran reveal conventional military secrets without nuclear dimensions. Iran has denied seeking atom bombs.

The Vienna-based U.N. watchdog said in a report on Monday that Iranian stonewalling had brought an agency inquiry to resolve whether Tehran had covertly researched ways to make a nuclear bomb to a standstill.

Britain has accused Iran of showing contempt for the U.N. watchdog and, with the United States and France, vowed to seek harsher sanctions on Tehran over its defiance of U.N. demands for full disclosure and a suspension of uranium enrichment.

The IAEA wants Iran to clarify intelligence material pointing to links between Iranian projects to process uranium, test high explosives and modify the cone of its long-distance Shahab-3 missile in a way suitable for a nuclear warhead.

The Islamic Republic has denied the allegations but the IAEA says Iran must substantiate its position by granting access to sites, documents and relevant officials for interviews.

Herman Naeckerts, the agency's head of inspections in the Middle East region, briefed its governing board on the report's findings on Tuesday ahead of a meeting by the 35-nation body next week likely to heighten pressure on Iran to cooperate.

Washington's IAEA envoy said Naeckerts presented photos and diagrams of Iranian work on re-designing a Shabab-3 "to carry what would appear to be a nuclear weapon".

"VERY CREDIBLE"

"The (IAEA) Secretariat told us the information they have is in their words, 'very credible', unquote, and they have asked Iran to provide 'substantive responses', unquote," Ambassador Gregory Schulte told reporters.

He said Naeckerts told the closed meeting Iran had refused IAEA requests to interview engineers involved in the work and visit their ostensibly civilian workshops, depicted in photos.

Other diplomats in the meeting said Naeckerts emphasised the information remained unverified. "His presentation was professional and balanced," one said, asking for anonymity.

Another diplomat said some countries on the board questioned the IAEA's mandate to judge intelligence data related to ballistic missiles and high explosives.

Iran repeated that the intelligence was forged or pertained only to conventional arms. It said Iran faced extraordinary and unacceptable pressure to prove unverified allegations were wrong by revealing information vital to its national security.

"No country would give information about its conventional military activities," Iran's IAEA ambassador said.

"I said in this briefing, 'Who in the world would believe there are a series of top secret documents U.S. intelligence found in a laptop regarding a Manhattan Project-type nuclear (bomb programme) in Iran and none of these documents bore seals of 'high confidential' or 'secret'?" Ali Asghar Soltanieh said.

"This matter is over, as far as we are concerned."

Western concern was heightened by a revelation in the IAEA report that Iran may have had "foreign expertise" helping in experiments on a detonator applicable to an implosion-type nuclear blast occurring at high altitude.

Informed diplomats said the expertise appeared not to have been given by a government such as North Korea or any remnants of the ex-A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling network that supplied Iran in the past, but by other non-state actors.

The IAEA has called for an explanation from Iran.

(Editing by Ralph Boulton)

'06 Blueprint Leak Intensifies Concerns Over U.S.-India Deal


By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 18, 2008; Page A17

In January 2006, an Indian government agency purchased newspaper ads seeking help in building an obscure piece of metal machinery. The details of the project, available to bidders, were laid out in a series of drawings that jolted nuclear weapons experts who discovered them that spring.

The blueprints depicted the inner workings of a centrifuge, a machine used to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs. In most Western countries, such drawings would be considered secret, but the Indian diagrams were available for a nominal bidding fee, said David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector. He said he acquired the drawings to prove a point.

"We got them for about $10," said Albright, who called the incident a "serious leak of sensitive nuclear information."

India has since tightened its bidding procedures, but the incident has fueled concerns among opponents of a U.S.-Indian civilian nuclear deal that Congress is expected to consider in the coming weeks.

The accord, first announced in 2005 by the Bush administration, would lift a decades-old moratorium on nuclear trade with India, allowing U.S. companies to share sensitive technology despite that country's refusal to ban nuclear testing or sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Backers of the deal say it will cement U.S. ties with India and reward a country that has been a responsible steward of nuclear technology since it first joined the nuclear weapons club in 1974.
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But opponents say India's record on nonproliferation is not as unblemished as is claimed by the White House, which regards the nuclear pact as one of the foreign-policy highlights of the Bush administration's second term. Critics, including former U.S. diplomats, military officers and arms-control officials, accuse the White House of rushing the agreement through Congress without considering the long-term implications.

"This deal significantly weakens U.S. and international security," said retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert G. Gard Jr., chairman of the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. Yesterday, a group of 34 arms-control advocates and former government officials urged Congress to reject the deal in its current form.

Administration officials have repeatedly lauded India's efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear technology, contrasting its behavior with that of Pakistan, the home base of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the acknowledged nuclear smuggler who delivered weapons secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea.

R. Nicholas Burns, the former undersecretary of state for political affairs and a chief supporter of the landmark accord, said in a recent forum that India was "playing by the rules of the [nuclear] club but not allowed to join the club." Burns said the agreement "strengthened the international nonproliferation regime because it resolves an inherent contradiction in the regime."

Likewise, India's government says it deserves the trust of the world's nuclear gatekeepers. "India has an impeccable nonproliferation record," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said last week. "We have in place an effective and comprehensive system of national export controls."

Opponents point to what they call decades of deceptive practices India has used to acquire nuclear materials from foreign governments. A draft report by Albright and his Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based nonprofit that monitors the spread of weapons technology, cites recent incidents in which it says India engaged in "illicit nuclear trade."

In an instance alleged by ISIS, India used an array of trading companies to secretly acquire tons of tributyl phosphate, a chemical used to separate plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. China, a longtime supplier of TBP to India, halted shipments of the chemical in 2003 after U.S. criticism. India turned to independent trading firms that acquired TBP from German and Russian companies without revealing the true destination, the report said.

The ISIS report, due for release today, included photocopies of some of the centrifuge drawings obtained by Albright, although the group removed key specifications. Albright said he shared his findings with State Department officials but was turned away.

"It didn't fit with their talking points," Albright said. "At the highest level, they were dismissive of our concerns."

A State Department spokesman declined to comment on Albright's report, saying it had not been reviewed, and said the agreement was in the U.S. interest.

Other opponents have cited transfers of sensitive weapons technology by individual Indian scientists. In 2004, the State Department slapped sanctions on two Indian nuclear scientists alleged to have passed heavy-water technology to Iran. At least four Indian companies have been sanctioned over sales of missile technology to Tehran.

Such incidents underscore concerns about the possible transfer of India's expanded nuclear know-how by rogue scientists and businessmen, said Henry Sokolski, the Defense Department's top nonproliferation official in the George H.W. Bush administration.

As trade grows between India and Iran, so does the risk of "transfers of technology that could be useful for Iran's purported weapons of mass destruction," Sokolski said.

Fears of US-Russia Breakdown on WMD Dismantlement
Desmond Butler, Associated Press The authors of a U.S. program designed to secure weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union say they worry that deteriorating relations between the United States and Russia could undermine efforts to keep the weapons out of the hands of terrorists.

Discovery of Syrian Reactor a Joint Spy Victory - CIA Randall Mikkelsen, Reuters The destruction of a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor last year was the result of an intelligence collaboration that included a "foreign partner" who first identified the facility's purpose, CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden said on Tuesday.

Two Koreas to discuss energy aid despite nuclear deadlock
Seoul (AFP) Sept 17, 2008
North and South Korean officials will meet Friday to discuss energy aid for the North despite a deadlock in a six-nation nuclear disarmament deal, the foreign ministry in Seoul said. The meeting proposed by Pyongyang comes amid uncertainty about the North's commitment to the deal and about the health of its leader Kim Jong-Il. South Korea chairs an energy aid working group under the six ... read more

Iran Starts Large-Scale Air Force, Air Defense Drills
Tehran, Iran (RIA Novosti) Sep 18, 2008
Iran has launched a three-day series of Air Force and missile defense exercises throughout the country, the Air Force commander said on Monday. "The drills are being conducted in more than a half of Iran's provinces. Their main goal is to rehearse tactical operations with modern weapons and generally to upgrade the operational effectiveness of the country's armed forces," Brigadier General ... more

North Korea vows to build up 'war deterrent'
Seoul (AFP) Sept 16, 2008
North Korea on Tuesday renewed criticism of last month's joint US-South Korean military exercise and vowed to strengthen its "war deterrent" in the face of what it called invasion threats. "Reinforcing war deterrent is one hundred times justifiable," said Rodong Sinmun, newspaper of the ruling communist party, in a commentary attacking the war games. The phrase normally refers to its ... more

Iran warns on nuclear cooperation, rattles sabre over Gulf
Tehran (AFP) Sept 16, 2008
Iran warned on Tuesday it will not respond to every adverse claim about its nuclear drive, after a damning report from the UN atomic watchdog left the global community divided about future action. Amid fears that one response might be a US or Israeli strike on Tehran's nuclear programme, a top aide to Iran's supreme leader warned again that Iran could bring oil shipments from the Gulf to a ... more

Iran Stalls On IAEA Nuke Probe US Threatens More Sanctions
Vienna (AFP) Sept 15, 2008
Iran is still stalling a UN investigation into its disputed nuclear programme, refusing access to documents, individuals and sites, the UN atomic watchdog said in its latest report on the crisis. The Islamic republic was defying international demands to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make the fissile material for an atomic bomb, the International Atomic Energy ... more

India now a big world player thanks to nuclear nod: minister
New Delhi (AFP) Sept 15, 2008
The decision by nuclear supplier nations to end a decades-old ban on civilian nuclear trade with India has vaulted it into the ranks of the world's major global political powers, a key minister says. Ten days ago, the United States finally won approval in Vienna for the one-off waiver for India to take part in civilian atomic trade, a vital step to final approval by the US Congress of a ... more

Solana: IAEA's Iran report worries Russia, China: The European Union's foreign policy chief says he believes Russia and China are "quite worried" about a new IAEA report that says Iran has blocked efforts to investigate its nuclear program.

Study: Bombing Iran will take years: A bipartisan group says the US must strike Iran's nuclear sites many times 'over a period of years' to halt the program successfully.

N Korea 'to restart reactor': North Korea has started preparatory works to restart its main nuclear facility, a senior diplomat has said, amid a deadlock in international disarmament talks.

Iran in the Crosshairs
by Jeremy R. Hammond / September 20th, 2008 (0)

The IAEA’s latest report on Iran’s nuclear program was circulated to the Board of Governors this week. It has not been released to the general public, but it is widely being hailed as a damning condemnation of Iran by the mainstream media.

The Washington Post headline read, “U.N. Agency at ‘Dead End’ as Iran Rejects Queries on Nuclear Research.” The article states, “The apparent standoff was detailed in a report that also described substantial gains by Tehran in its efforts to make enriched uranium, the fuel used in commercial nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons.” The Post fails to …

(Full article …)

NKorea removes IAEA seal from nuclear facilities: report
Seoul (AFP) Sept 22, 2008
North Korea has removed seals placed by the UN atomic watchdog on its nuclear facilities, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Monday. The North said last week that it was working to restart its atomic reactor at Yongbyon and no longer wants US concessions promised under a landmark deal in return for its denuclearisation. Yonhap gave no immediate details of the source of its ... read more

'No indication of nuclear material' in Syria so far: ElBaradei
Vienna (AFP) Sept 22, 2008
The UN atomic watchdog is still evaluating samples taken from an alleged nuclear site in Syria, but "so far we have no indication of any nuclear material," IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said Monday. In June, Syria allowed inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit Al-Kibar, a remote desert site which the United States claims was a clandestine nuclear facility. ... more

IAEA urges Iran to come clean on alleged nuke warhead studies
Vienna (AFP) Sept 22, 2008
The UN atomic watchdog called on Iran Monday to clear up allegations that it had been involved in nuclear warhead studies, while Tehran protested it has not seen any evidence backing up the charges. Instead of simply dismissing the allegations as "forged" and "fabricated", Iran "should clarify the extent to which the documentation is factually correct and where, as it asserts, such ... more

No 'immediate' risk North Korea will restart nuclear plant: US
NKorea taking 'tough line' in nuclear talks: US
No immediate risk of NKorea restarting reactor: US envoy
North Korea wants seals removed at nuclear plant: IAEA
US: Iran must cooperate with UN watchdog
US mulls mission for talks on 'serious' NKorea issue
IAEA turns up heat on Iran over alleged nuclear weapons work
Lithuania eyes Areva, Candu, GE, Westinghouse for nuclear plant
IAEA urges Iran to come clean on alleged nuke warhead studies
Bush tells Hu of 'concern' over North Korea: White House

Chief Inspector: Iran May Be Hiding Secret Nukes George Jahn, Associated Press The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned Monday that Iran may be hiding secret nuclear activities, comments that appeared to reflect a high level of frustration with stonewalling of his investigators.

A senior Iranian envoy accused the United States of trying to use the IAEA as a tool in Washington's confrontation with Tehran. Iran, he said, has demonstrated full cooperation with the agency. Allegations of nuclear weapons work by Tehran is based on forged documents and the issue is closed, the envoy said.

N. Korea Is Closer to Restart of Nuclear Program
Elaine Sciolino, The New York Times North Korea asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to remove seals and surveillance cameras at the North's nuclear reprocessing facility, the agency's director said Monday, in a setback for both the Bush administration and an international nuclear disarmament agreement.

Proliferation Charges 'Rubbish' The Hindu India on Friday described as "rubbish" the charges made by an American non-proliferation lobby group that the country had violated nuclear export control and information security norms.

• Surprising Admission by India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE): Claims revealing sensitive centrifuge drawings does not violate DAE's secrecy requirements (PDF)

Nuke Deal Caught in US Financial Storm
The Times of India Hurricanes Gustav and Ike are gone from mainland United States, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is flying into a perfect financial storm that could make the US-India nuclear deal, a pet project of the Indian leader and the US president, a momentary casualty.

U.S., Russia Cooperate on Key Issues Amid Tensions
Jay Solomon, The Wall Street Journal The U.S. is continuing to engage Russia on some key strategic issues even as it has stepped up its rhetoric against Moscow.

U.S., Russia Must Unite to Lessen Nuclear Dangers</h3> Martin B. Malin, The Washington Times As the presidential nominees' debate on national security issues approaches, there is one issue on which both sides agree - preventing nuclear terrorism and p

Russian Diplomat Says Snub over Iran Meeting Was Aimed at U.S. Colum Lynch, The Washington Post Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that his government had refused to attend a high-level meeting scheduled for Thursday to discuss Iran's nuclear ambitions in retaliation for Washington's refusal to hold a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of Eight industrialized powers.

The move was calculated to show the United States that it will pay a price for seeking to isolate Russia on the international scene in response to its military intervention in Georgia last month.

EU Warns Iran Close to Nuclear Arms Capacity George Jahn, Associated Press Iran is nearing the ability to arm a nuclear warhead even if it insists its atomic activities are peaceful, the European Union warned Wednesday.

North Koreans Bar Inspectors at Nuclear Site
Steven Lee Myers and Elaine Sciolino, The New York Times North Korea's move to resume the reprocessing of plutonium, perhaps as soon as next week, left the country on the verge of restarting a nuclear weapons program whose shutdown had been portrayed by the White House as a significant diplomatic achievement.

STRATCOM Leader Charts Nuclear Path for American Military
Master Sgt. Ben Gonzales, Air Force News Agency The U.S. Strategic Command commander here recently laid out his vision for the future of America's strategic deterrence mission and the importance of nuclear stewardship.

Air Force and Army Generals Face Discipline
Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times At least six Air Force and two Army generals face potentially career-ending punishment in the mishandling of U.S. nuclear warhead components, Defense Department officials said.

Turkey's Nuclear Tender Falls Flat
Delphine Strauss, Financial Times Turkey suffered a setback in its efforts to reduce a costly dependence on energy imports yesterday, receiving just one bid in a tender to build the country's first nuclear power plant.

Carnegie to Represent U.S. Research for International Nuclear Weapons Commission
Press Release The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has been chosen to serve as the U.S.-based Associated Research Centre for the International Commission on Non-proliferation and Disarmament. The Commission, which will report on ways to rid the world of nuclear weapons, was formally announced on September 25, 2008, by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso.

Headed by a former foreign minister of Australia, Gareth Evans, and a former foreign minister of Japan, Yoriko Kawaguchi, the Commission will discuss the three closely interconnected issues of nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and produce reports to contribute to the debate on these issues in the context of the 2010 NPT Review Conference and beyond.

Agency Founded to Shore Up Nuclear Security
Reuters U.S. non-proliferation campaigners launched an agency on Monday aimed at sharing information to improve security at the world's nuclear sites.

"Global nuclear security is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain. We can't afford to wait for a security Chernobyl before we act," said Charles Curtis, president of the Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), referring to the 1986 Soviet nuclear reactor meltdown.

A Bad India Deal
The New York Times The House of Representatives approved President Bush's ill-conceived nuclear agreement with India last week, shrugging off concerns that the deal could make it even harder to rein in Iran's (and others') nuclear ambitions. We hope the Senate shows better judgment.

India and Europe in Civil Nuclear Accord
Tony Barber, Financial Times The European Union and India are to co-operate more closely on civil nuclear research and development as a way of strengthening a partnership that has often been seen as falling short of its potential.

Far-Reaching U.S. Plan Impaired N. Korea Deal
Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post The unraveling of the landmark deal to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programs began just weeks after its high point -- the televised destruction of the cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear reactor in late June -- when U.S. negotiators presented Pyongyang with a sweeping plan for verifying its claims about its nuclear programs.

U.S. Radar, Troops in Israel
Gayle S. Putrich, Defense News U.S. European Command (EUCOM) has deployed to Israel a high-powered X-band radar and the supporting people and equipment needed for coordinated defense against Iranian missile attack, marking the first permanent U.S. military presence on Israeli soil.

Olmert Says Israel Should Pull Out of West Bank
Ethan Bronner, The New York Times Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in an interview published on Monday that Israel must withdraw from nearly all of the West Bank as well as East Jerusalem to attain peace with the Palestinians and that any occupied land it held onto would have to be exchanged for the same quantity of Israeli territory.

Venezuela Set to Develop Nuclear Power
Reuters President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday Venezuela will develop a nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes, in another challenge to Washington just days after Russia offered nuclear assistance to the socialist Latin American leader.

Senate Backs Far-Reaching Nuclear Trade Deal with India Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post The Senate last night approved a historic agreement that opens up nuclear trade with India for the first time since New Delhi conducted a nuclear test three decades ago, giving the Bush administration a significant foreign policy achievement in its final months.

The bill, which passed 86 to 13, goes to President Bush for his signature, handing the chief executive a rare victory that both advocates and foes say will reverberate for decades. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who conceived of the deal, have pushed hard for it from the earliest weeks of the president's second term.

A Task of Monumental Importance for Putin
Rose Gottemoeller, Nezavisimaya Gazeta The first debate between American presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama was supposed to be about foreign policy, but almost all of it was about the crisis wracking the U.S. economy. Russia only came up toward the end, after about an hour and fifteen minutes of the ninety-minute exchange. The candidates did not say anything new about Russia—indeed they traded the same barbs they have been hurling at each other since the conflict in Georgia began.

Without Assured Nuclear Supply Iran Will Keep Enriching: Envoy
Agence France-Presse Iran will continue to enrich uranium while there is no legally-binding international assurance of a nuclear fuel supply, the country's envoy to the UN's nuclear energy watchdog said Thursday.

Clash Looms as Syria Bids for Seat on IAEA Panel
Mark Heinrich, Reuters Syria said on Tuesday it would pursue its bid for a seat on the U.N. nuclear watchdog's governing body despite U.S.-led opposition to Damascus, which is under investigation for alleged covert atomic work.

China Report Urges Missile Shield
Bill Gertz, The Washington Times The United States needs new weapon systems, including missile defenses and other advanced military capabilities, to deter and counter China's steady buildup of nuclear and conventional arms, according to a draft internal report by a State Department advisory board.

N. Korea Repairing Nuke Reactor
Jin Dae-woong, The Korea Herald North Korea has recently been increasing activities near a nuclear test site on the northeastern tip of the communist state in an apparent move to repair the site, a South Korean military source said yesterday.

Financial Crisis Could Dent Nuclear Plant Growth

Greg Keller, Associated Press Growth in the construction of new nuclear plants worldwide is at risk because of the global financial crisis, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Wednesday, adding that short-term projects like oil drilling are more likely to go ahead.

IAEA 'puts Israeli nukes on agenda' - by Press TV - 2008-10-01

NKorea developing nuke warhead: Seoul official
Seoul (AFP) Oct 8, 2008 - North Korea is working to develop a nuclear warhead for a long-range missile, South Korea's top military officer said Wednesday, a day after the communist state tested its short-range weaponry. "I understand that North Korea is working to develop a small nuclear warhead which can be loaded into a missile," Kim Tae-Young, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was quoted by Yonhap news agency ... more

US advises North Korea against test-firing missiles
Washington (AFP) Oct 8, 2008 - The US State Department on Wednesday advised North Korea against test-firing short-range weapons, amid reports, which officials in Washington were unable to confirm, that Pyongyang had launched test missiles into the Yellow Sea. "Can't confirm it," State Department Sean McCormack told reporters when asked whether North Korea had test-fired short-range missiles into the Yellow Sea on Tuesday ... more