August 31, 2015

Jim Acosta, "John Kerry to give major speech on Iran nuclear deal Wednesday" CNN / August 31, 2015 Secretary of State John Kerry will deliver a major speech on the Iran nuclear deal at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Wednesday, CNN has learned. Kerry will use the speech to defend the merits of the agreement and respond to its critics.... View Source ›

Alina Selyukh and Eric Walsh, "Iran nuclear deal now backed by 31 senators" Reuters / August 30, 2015 U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, said on Sunday he would support the nuclear deal with Iran, moving President Barack Obama a step closer to having sufficient backing to ensure the deal stands.... View Source ›

Ali Akbar Dareini, "Iran president opposes parliament vote on nuclear deal, says it should not become obligation" Associated Press / August 29, 2015 President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday he opposes a parliamentary vote on the landmark nuclear deal reached with world powers because terms of the agreement would turn into legal obligations if passed by lawmakers.... View Source ›

Li Jing, "China is taking charge of a key element in Iran's nuclear deal" Business Insider / August 29, 2015 Iranian Vice-President Ali Akbar Salehi, who is also head of the country's Atomic Energy Organisation, on Friday said China would play "a leading role" in redesigning the Arak heavy-water reactor to significantly reduce its plutonium output. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-role-in-iran-nuclear-deal-2015-8#ixzz3kOy3ln3m... View Source ›

"Kim Jong Un sacks top officials after standoff with Seoul eases" Associated Press / August 28, 2015 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has dismissed top officials in the wake of a recent standoff with South Korea, state media reported Friday, a move that suggests the young leader holds them responsible for allowing the confrontation to nearly spin out of control.... View Source ›

August 28, 2015

Laurence Norman, "New Construction Activity Reported at Controversial Iranian Facility" Wall Street Journal / August 28, 2015 Iran has carried out fresh construction work at the Parchin military site, according to the United Nations atomic agency—raising new concerns the nation is seeking to erase evidence of alleged past nuclear activities.... View Source ›

"US sanctions chief visits Israel amid Iran jitters" Associated Press / August 28, 2015 The U.S. Department of the Treasury's sanctions chief is visiting Israel amid concerns in Jerusalem over the nuclear deal with Iran.... View Source ›

Bradley Klapper, "IAEA reports Iran broadly complying with nuclear accords" Associated Press / August 27, 2015 Iran is broadly complying with agreements on curtailing its nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Thursday in its first update since last month's deal between Tehran and world powers. It noted concern, however, with an Iranian military site where nuclear weapons work may have occurred more than a decade ago.... View Source ›

Scott Neuman, "Report: In A Decade (Or Sooner), Pakistan Could Be No. 3 Nuclear Power" NPR / August 27, 2015 Pakistan could have 350 nuclear warheads sometime in the next decade, becoming the world's No. 3 nuclear power by outpacing rival India and several other nations in bomb-making, according to a new report issued by two think tanks.... View Source ›

Ian Williams, "North Korea's Kim Jong Un Says Nuclear Might Sealed Deal With South" NBC / August 28, 2015 Nuclear weapons secured the deal with South Korea and ended a dangerous military standoff, according to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.... View Source ›

August 27, 2015

Shadia Nasralla, "Iran may have built extension at disputed military site: U.N. nuclear watchdog" Reuters / August 27, 2015 Iran appears to have built an extension to part of its Parchin military site since May, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a report on Thursday delving into a major part of its inquiry into possible military dimensions to Tehran's past atomic activity.... View Source ›

Saushan Nurshayeva, "Kazakhstan to host IAEA nuclear fuel bank to assist non-proliferation" Reuters / August 27, 2015 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on Thursday to locate the first internationally-controlled bank of low-enriched uranium in the ex-Soviet nation to ensure fuel supplies for power stations and prevent nuclear proliferation.... View Source ›

Carol Morello, "Retired generals and admirals urge Congress to reject Iran nuclear deal" Washington Post / August 27, 2015 A group of nearly 200 retired generals and admirals sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday urging lawmakers to reject the Iran nuclear agreement, which they say threatens national security.... View Source ›

Tim Craig, "Report: Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal could become the world’s third-biggest" Washington Post / August 27, 2015 A new report by two American think tanks asserts that Pakistan may be building 20 nuclear warheads annually and could have the world’s third-largest nuclear stockpile within a decade.... View Source ›

Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Sam Wilkin, "Hoping for domestic reform, Iranian activists back nuclear deal" Reuters / August 26, 2015 Iranian pro-democracy activists, lawyers and artists have thrown their weight behind last month's nuclear deal with world powers, hoping it will lead to a promised political opening that President Hassan Rouhani has so far failed to deliver.... View Source ›

August 26, 2015

Laurence Norman, "Iran Pushes Back on Nuclear Disclosure at Vienna IAEA Meeting" Wall Street Journal / August 25, 2015 Iranian officials warned the United Nations atomic agency not to bow to pressure from U.S. lawmakers to detail its probe into Tehran’s past nuclear work, warning Iran will “not accept” any leaks of their discussions.... View Source ›

George Jahn, "UN nuclear chief: Iran has provided 'substantive volume' of info on alleged atomic arms work" Associated Press / August 25, 2015 Iran has provided a "substantive volume" of information to the U.N. atomic agency on allegations that it worked on nuclear arms, the agency's chief said Tuesday, but declined to characterize the value of the documents.... View Source ›

"IAEA Board Discusses Safeguards Implementation in Iran (video)" IAEA / August 26, 2015 IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano today addressed the Agency’s Board of Governors. The meeting was convened to consider the UN Security Council’s request for the IAEA to undertake verification and monitoring of Iran’s nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.... View Source ›

Carl Hulse, "Weighing the Odds in Fight Over Iran Nuclear Deal" New York Times / August 25, 2015 After Congress passes foreign policy legislation that the president strongly opposes, he vetoes the bill, saying it unlawfully restricts executive authority. Lawmakers refuse to accept the action and override the veto, with the Senate quickly following the House.... View Source ›

"Fishermen OK Tepco plan to dump water from wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into sea" Japan Times / August 26, 2015 Fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture on Tuesday approved a plan by Tokyo Electric Power Co. to take contaminated groundwater that’s continuously flowing into the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and dump it into the ocean after removing most of the radioactive materials from it.... View Source ›

August 26, 2015

Laurence Norman, "Iran Pushes Back on Nuclear Disclosure at Vienna IAEA Meeting" Wall Street Journalo / August 25, 2015 Iranian officials warned the United Nations atomic agency not to bow to pressure from U.S. lawmakers to detail its probe into Tehran’s past nuclear work, warning Iran will “not accept” any leaks of their discussions.... View Source ›

George Jahn, "UN nuclear chief: Iran has provided 'substantive volume' of info on alleged atomic arms work" Associated Press / August 25, 2015 Iran has provided a "substantive volume" of information to the U.N. atomic agency on allegations that it worked on nuclear arms, the agency's chief said Tuesday, but declined to characterize the value of the documents.... View Source ›

"IAEA Board Discusses Safeguards Implementation in Iran (video)" IAEA / August 26, 2015 IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano today addressed the Agency’s Board of Governors. The meeting was convened to consider the UN Security Council’s request for the IAEA to undertake verification and monitoring of Iran’s nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.... View Source ›

Carl Hulse, "Weighing the Odds in Fight Over Iran Nuclear Deal" New York Times / August 25, 2015 After Congress passes foreign policy legislation that the president strongly opposes, he vetoes the bill, saying it unlawfully restricts executive authority. Lawmakers refuse to accept the action and override the veto, with the Senate quickly following the House.... View Source ›

"Fishermen OK Tepco plan to dump water from wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into sea" Japan Times / August 26, 2015 Fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture on Tuesday approved a plan by Tokyo Electric Power Co. to take contaminated groundwater that’s continuously flowing into the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and dump it into the ocean after removing most of the radioactive materials from it.... View Source ›

August 25, 2015

Shadia Nasralla, "IAEA says Iran sent "substantive" data over its nuclear past" Reuters / August 25, 2015 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday it received "substantive" amounts of information from Iran to quell concerns its nuclear past might have had military aspects, although it was too early to draw conclusions from it.... View Source ›

Shadia Nasralla, "IAEA asks member states for more money for Iran nuclear work" Reuters / August 25, 2015 The U.N. nuclear watchdog has asked its member states for more money to carry out its role under a deal to curtail Iran's nuclear program, its chief Yukiya Amano said on Tuesday, saying current funds would run out next month... View Source ›

Shadia Nasralla, "U.S. says will make sure IAEA has enough money for Iran work" Reuters / August 25, 2015 The United States said on Tuesday it will make sure the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has enough money to report on Iran's past, present and future nuclear programs.... View Source ›

Laurence Norman, "U.N. Atomic Agency Board to Meet for First Time Since Iran Nuclear Deal" Wall Street Journal / August 24, 2015 Senior diplomats from the United Nations’ atomic agency will meet Tuesday for the first time since Iran signed a final nuclear agreement with six world powers on July 14, amid criticism about the agency’s handling of a probe into Iran’s past nuclear work.... View Source ›

Ju-Min Park and Tony Munroe, "North, South Korea reach agreement to ease tensions" Reuters / August 25, 2015 North and South Korea agreed early on Tuesday to end a military standoff that sparked an exchange of artillery fire and had ratcheted up tension on one of the world's most heavily-fortified borders.... View Source ›

Geoff Brumfiel, "Particles From The Edge Of Space Shine A Light On Fukushima" NPR / August 24, 2015 It's one of the greatest, and most disturbing, questions of the Fukushima disaster: What happened to the nuclear fuel inside the plant? Now physicists are trying to shed some light on the problem using particles from the edge of space.... View Source ›

August 24, 2015

Maayan Lubell, "Netanyahu pressed for Iran attacks, but was denied: ex-defense chief" Reuters / August 22, 2015 Israel's political leaders pushed to attack Iran at least three times in the past few years but had to back down on the advice of the military and due to concerns about its ally the United States, former defense minister Ehud Barak said.... View Source ›

Jesse J. Holland, "Reid says he's going to support Obama's Iran nuclear deal" Associated Press / August 23, 2015 Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid on Sunday threw his full support behind President Barack Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran, saying "it is the best path to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."... View Source ›

Ted Barrett, "Forget a veto override; Democrats hope to prevent a 'no' vote on the Iran deal" CNN / August 22, 2015 Democrats have picked up enough congressional support for the Iran nuclear deal that they are now hoping not merely to sustain any White House veto of a resolution rejecting the agreement but also to prevent the resolution from even reaching the President's desk.... View Source ›

Guy Faulconbridge, "Britain reopens embassy in Iran ransacked in 2011" Reuters / August 23, 2015 Britain reopened its embassy in Tehran on Sunday, a striking signal of how Western ties with Iran have thawed since protesters stormed the compound nearly four years ago.... View Source ›

Foster Klug and Hyung-Jin Kim, "Seoul takes hard line as talks between rival Koreas drag on" Associated Press / August 24, 2015 South Korea's president vowed a hard line on Monday as marathon negotiations between senior officials of the two Koreas stretched into a third day in an attempt to defuse a crisis that had the rivals threatening war.... View Source ›

August 21, 2015

Laurence Norman, "Head of U.N. Nuclear Agency Responds to Criticism of Its Iran Probe" Wall Street Journal / August 21, 2015 The head of the United Nations agency charged with leading an investigation into Iran’s past nuclear activities defended the probe, hitting back at suggestions that the watchdog had ceded control of inspection of one important site to Iran.... View Source ›

Laura Koran, Jim Sciutto, and Jim Acosta, "U.S. acknowledges likely Iranian role in nuclear site inspections" CNN / August 20, 2015 The Obama administration is acknowledging that Iranians would be involved in inspections of the sensitive Parchin military site under a draft arrangement with the U.N., but officials are stressing that they are not the only ones who would be investigating the Iranian location long believed to have hosted covert militarized nuclear activity.... View Source ›

Karen DeYoung, "Atomic energy watchdog says critics ‘misrepresent’ Iran nuclear agreement" Washington Post / August 21, 2015 The international watchdog agency charged with verifying Iran’s compliance with the recent nuclear deal said Thursday that critics of the deal “misrepresent” its plans for doing so.... View Source ›

Alexander Burns, "Jerrold Nadler, New York Congressman, Is to Endorse Iran Nuclear Deal" New York Times / August 21, 2015 Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York will endorse President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, becoming the lone Jewish member of Congress from the state to back the contested arms-control agreement.... View Source ›

August 20, 2015

George Jahn, "AP Exclusive: UN to let Iran inspect alleged nuke work site" Associated Press / August 20, 2015 Iran will be allowed to use its own inspectors to investigate a site it has been accused of using to develop nuclear arms, operating under a secret agreement with the U.N. agency that normally carries out such work, according to a document seen by The Associated Press.... View Source ›

Shadia Nasralla, "IAEA says report Iran to inspect own military site is 'misrepresentation'" Reuters / August 20, 2015 The U.N. nuclear watchdog said it is satisfied with access Iran will grant it to the Parchin military site, suspected by some states of having in the past hosted Iranian experiments related to atomic bombs.... View Source ›

Erica Werner and George Jahn, "Report on Iran side deal angers GOP, House Dems claims votes" Associated Press / August 20, 2015 Republican opposition to President Barack Obama's nuclear deal is flaring over revelations of a secret side agreement involving Iranian inspections. But House Democrats are shrugging off the report and claiming they have the votes to back up Obama anyway.... View Source ›

Erica Werner, "Pelosi: House Democrats will sustain Obama veto on Iran deal" Associated Press / August 20, 2015 House Democrats have the votes, if necessary, to uphold President Barack Obama's veto of a resolution against his Iran nuclear deal, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday.... View Source ›

Stella Kim and Alastair Jamieson, "North Korea Exchanges Fire With South Korea Over Loudspeaker" NBC / August 20, 2015 North Korea fired a projectile towards a South Korean loudspeaker that has been blaring anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts — and South Korea fired back, officials said.... View Source ›

August 19, 2015

Michael R. Gordon, "Robert Menendez Says He’ll Vote Against Iran Nuclear Deal" New York Times / August 18, 2015 Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, said Tuesday that he would vote against the nuclear accord with Iran, contending the agreement did not go far enough to limit Tehran’s potential to pursue a weapons program.... View Source ›

Erica Werner and David Porter, "Obama's Iran deal may well survive on Capitol Hill" Associated Press / August 18, 2015 The fiercely contested Iran nuclear deal will likely survive in Congress despite unified GOP opposition and some Democratic defections, the top Senate Republican says. That would mean a major foreign policy win for President Barack Obama.... View Source ›

Steve Bene, "Iran deal quietly picks up some GOP backers" MSNBC / August 17, 2015 At last count, the number of congressional Republican supporting the international nuclear agreement with Iran is exactly zero. But away from Capitol Hill, it’s a very different story.... View Source ›

Sam Wilkin, "Iran plans to sign contract for Russian S-300 missiles next week" Reuters / August 18, 2015 Aug 18 Iran will sign a contract with Russia next week to buy four S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, the Iranian defence minister said on Tuesday, bringing Tehran closer to acquiring an advanced air defence capability.... View Source ›

Osamu Tsukimori, Kiyoshi Takenaka, and Aaron Sheldrick, "Japan and Iran are preparing for deals after nuclear sanctions end" Reuters / August 19, 2015 Japan and Iran will start negotiations on an investment accord once sanctions are lifted following last month's landmark international deal on Tehran's nuclear program, the Nikkei reported on Wednesday, citing Japanese government sources.... View Source ›