Iran

Netanyahu Seeing Red

Last Tuesday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that “Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.” The Prime Minister may have been responding to the Obama administration’s commitment to keeping the military option on the table while continuing to seek a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had previously asserted that “We’re not setting deadlines.”

New Evidence, Old Suspicions

The Associated Press has reported that the IAEA has received new intelligence suggesting that Iran used computer models to measure the potential yield of a nuclear weapon. The new intelligence seems to corroborate the IAEA’s November 2011 report on the Iranian nuclear program, which suggested that information was collected that indicated that Iranian scientists had conducted computer modeling between 2008 and 2009.

Negotiations to Continue

According to a report, Catherin Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief, will meet with Iran’s chief negotiator Saeed Jalili on Tuesday to discuss international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. A spokesman for Ashton noted that the meeting provided “an opportunity to stress once again to Iran the need for an urgent and meaningful confidence-building step.” The head of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano, also reiterated his organization’s desire to continue the dialogue with Iran, although he did not provide a date for future negotiations.

 U.S.

Nuclear Modernization

Washington Post reporter Dana Priest examines expensive efforts to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal while the role of nuclear weapons in U.S strategy decreases. In a follow-up piece, Priest takes a look at the modernization of B61 nuclear bombs, a program estimated to cost up to $10 billion.

New Report Analyzes Possible Outcome of Military Strike on Iran

A report issued by The Iran Project and endorsed by a bipartisan group of  American lawmakers, national security experts, and retired military officials seeks to assess the “likely benefits and costs of military action,” against Iran. While neither advocating for nor against military action, the report does conclude that a strike may delay Iran’s program by up to four years. A more detailed analysis of the report is provided by ASP’s Mary Kaszynski.