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Iran

  • Dealing With Iran’s Uranium
    Arms Control Today
    June 1, 2010

    Iran's renewed interest in an arrangement that would move 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Turkey as part of a nuclear fuel exchange brokered by the leaders of Brazil and Turkey has been dubbed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as a “transparent ploy” designed to head off a new round of UN Security Council sanctions. That may be true, but the United States should still seriously pursue the deal as a means to help resolve the impasse over Tehran’s nuclear program. (Continue)
  • Iran-Turkey-Brazil Fuel Deal Has Potential if Iran Provides Follow-Up Steps
    Issue Briefs
    May 17, 2010

    Volume 1, Number 5

    Iran's agreement to ship 1,200 kilograms of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Turkey as part of an nuclear fuel exchange agreement brokered by Brazil and Turkey is a potentially positive development, but one of limited value without the appropriate follow-through.
  • Evaluating the Latest Iranian ICBM Threat Assessment
    Issue Briefs
    May 6, 2010

    Volume 1, Number 2

    A careful examination reveals that the Pentagon's latest report on Iran's military power does not contradict recent "worst case" assessments of Iran's ICBM potential. In fact, the same exact language was used in the April 2009 "Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat" Report of the National Air and Space Intelligence Center.
  • Iran to Mass-Produce Improved Centrifuges
    Arms Control Today
    May 5, 2010

    Iranian officials announced last month that Iran would begin mass-producing a second-generation centrifuge in the coming months, a step that could lead to an increase in the rate at which Iran enriches uranium.
  • Bill on Iran Gasoline Sanctions Nears Approval
    Arms Control Today
    May 5, 2010

    Congress began the final steps in April to prepare new U.S. legislation sanctioning foreign companies that provide gasoline to Iran.

    The House of Representatives appointed conferees April 22 to a committee that must reconcile the versions of the legislation adopted by the House in December and the Senate in January to create a final bill for President Barack Obama to sign. The Senate appointed its conferees March 11.
  • Putin Predicts Summer Start for Iranian Reactor
    Arms Control Today
    March 31, 2010

    In a statement that triggered a public dispute with the United States, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last month Russia would help Iran’s first nuclear power plant begin operations this summer. The March 18 announcement, made during a Russian nuclear industry conference, coincided with a visit to Russia by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who criticized the move.
  • Senate Targets Iran’s Oil Suppliers
    Arms Control Today
    March 3, 2010

    The Senate approved a bill Jan. 28 that would increase pressure on Iran by levying sanctions on firms that export gasoline and refinery equipment to that country.

    The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act, sponsored by Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), amends the 1996 Iran Sanctions Act, which targeted firms investing in Iran’s energy sector. The House of Representatives passed an Iran sanctions bill in December.
  • Iran Raising Uranium-Enrichment Level
    Arms Control Today
    March 3, 2010

    Iran has moved nearly its entire stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to a plant where it has begun further enrichment to up to 20 percent, a Feb. 18 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. Tehran’s move has escalated international tensions over its nuclear program, putting it in a position to dramatically reduce the time in which it can enrich a significant amount of material to weapons grade.

    Iran claims that the additional enrichment is aimed at refueling a research reactor in Tehran that operates on about 19.75 percent LEU and is expected to run out of fuel later this year.
  • IAEA Cites Possible Iran Warhead Efforts
    Arms Control Today
    March 3, 2010

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the first time raised a warning flag last month that Iran may be currently working to develop a nuclear warhead.

    In a Feb. 18 report, the agency said it has “concerns about the possible existence in Iran of past or current activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.” Previous reports have focused on alleged nuclear weapons-related activities occurring in the past.
  • OP ED: Worried about Iran? Ratify Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
    Press Room
    January 22, 2010

    This op-ed by ACA Senior Fellow Greg Thielmann appeared in the Des Moines Register on January 22, 2010.
  • News Briefs
    Arms Control Today
    January 14, 2010

    Short updates on a range of topics.
  • House Adopts Iran Oil Sanctions
    Arms Control Today
    January 14, 2010

    The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Dec. 15 to penalize companies that provide refined petroleum to Iran, advancing congressional efforts to strengthen sanctions against Tehran.

    The Senate is considering similar measures in more expansive sanctions legislation approved by the Senate Banking Committee in October. House and Senate committee leaders indicated in April that they would delay moving the legislation forward to allow the Obama administration to pursue diplomatic engagement with Iran.
  • IAEA Rebukes Iran Over Secret Facility
    Arms Control Today
    December 4, 2009

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors last month called on Iran to stop constructing a previously secret uranium-enrichment facility revealed in September. The Nov. 27 resolution, which came during the board’s quarterly meeting in Vienna, was the governors’ first on Iran in nearly four years.

    The resolution also urged Iran to confirm that it is not constructing and has not made a decision to construct any other nuclear facilities not declared to the agency and to adhere to UN Security Council demands to halt all enrichment-related activities.
  • Using Stronger Sanctions to Increase Negotiating Leverage With Iran
    Arms Control Today
    December 4, 2009

    Six days after his inauguration, President Barack Obama declared that “if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.” Over the 10 months since then, the Obama administration has followed up on the January 26 declaration with numerous friendly gestures to the Iranian regime.

    The administration was right to offer incentives to and enter into dialogue with the Iranian leadership. Unfortunately, the Iranian regime has responded by continuing its aggressive and illegal behavior. The Obama administration should increase U.S. negotiating leverage over Iran by imposing crippling sanctions on Iran, beginning January 1, until Iran verifiably complies with its international obligations.

     
  • Iran and the Problem of Tactical Myopia
    Arms Control Today
    December 4, 2009

    It seems that every conversation about Iran is a conversation about sanctions. Even in the midst of negotiations, the talk is as likely to be about the sanctions that might follow as it is about the negotiation itself. This is an odd and unfortunate state of affairs.

    Although sanctions can be an effective policy instrument, they are only that: an instrument or tactic for achieving a goal. Given their track record, new sanctions are hardly the tactic one would rush to as a promising choice. More importantly, by narrowly focusing on a tactic rather than the strategic objective, there is the risk that policymakers will produce the very thing they seek to prevent: an Iran with nuclear weapons.