Digests and Blog

The following are some of the key arms control dates and developments to watch over the next fortnight. For more news and analysis on these and other weapons-related security issues, consider subscribing to ACA's monthly journal Arms Control Today, which is available in print/digital and digital-only editions. - written and compiled by Tim Farnsworth July 12-20: Foreign Ministers Meet in Vienna as P5+1 and Iran Talks Head Into Final Week EU nuclear negotiator Catherine Ashton invited the foreign ministers from the P5+1 states (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the…

By the research staff of the Arms Control Association. To get this P5+1 and Iran Nuclear Talks Alert delivered to your inbox, sign-up now. This Week In Vienna The Coburg Palace Hotel, Vienna. The Coburg Hotel is expecting some additional guests this weekend. As anticipated in the July 7 edition of The P5+1 and Iran Nuclear Talks Alert, P5+1 foreign ministers will descend on Vienna on Sunday "to take stock of where we are in the talks," according to the spokesman for the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. "All available" foreign ministers are invited to attend, the spokesman said. At…

By the research staff of the Arms Control Association. To get this P5+1 and Iran Nuclear Talks Alert delivered to your inbox, sign-up now. Tough Talk from Tehran - What Does It Mean? Talks are still underway in Vienna as the countdown to July 20 drops to 11 days. Yesterday's meetings featured a plenary session chaired by Iran's deputy nuclear negotiator Abbas Arachi and Helga Schmid, deputy nuclear negotiator for the P5+1. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization. Negotiators seem undeterred by the tough talk from Supreme Leader Khamenei yesterday expressing his support…

Top diplomats from the United States, five other world powers, and Iran are racing against the clock to seal a long-sought, long-term comprehensive deal that guards against a nuclear-armed Iran, helps avoid a future military confrontation over its nuclear program, and leads to sanctions relief. This special newsletter compiled by the research staff of the Arms Control Association is designed to provide occasional updates from various sources on the talks, as well as information to help provide journalists, policy makers, and the public with a better understanding of the key issues and…

The following are some of the key arms control dates and developments to watch over the next fortnight. For more news and analysis on these and other weapons-related security issues, consider subscribing to ACA's monthly journal Arms Control Today, which is available in print/digital and digital-only editions. - written and compiled by Tim Farnsworth July 2-20+: Sixth and Possibly Final Round of P5+1 and Iran Talks in Vienna Top diplomats from Iran and the P5+1 states (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) will reconvene July 2 in Vienna to continue their…

Statement of Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director Today, on the final day of the Third Review Conference of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty in Maputo, Mozambique, the United States formally announced that it will not produce or acquire any new anti-personnel land mines and will not replace the existing U.S. stockpile of landmines. The statement from U.S. Ambassador Griffiths from the U.S. Embassy in Maputo also states that "...we are diligently pursuing other solutions that would be compliant with the Convention and that would ultimately allow us to accede to the Convention." The U.S. statement from…

By Greg Thielmann Iran tests a Shahab-3 during exercises in 2012. Photo Credit: AFP Ballistic missile limits continue to receive attention as a candidate for inclusion in the ongoing Iran nuclear talks – most recently in a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on June 19. But making the case for inclusion ignores how seeking such limits could derail the negotiations. The opening statement of Chairman Buck McKeon (R-California) included the complaint that "the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East" does not appear to be "within scope of a comprehensive deal." No member…

The following are some of the key arms control dates and developments to watch over the next fortnight. For more news and analysis on these and other weapons-related security issues, consider subscribing to ACA's monthly journal Arms Control Today, which is available in print/digital and digital-only editions. - written and compiled by Tim Farnsworth June 23: OPCW Announces Last Consignment of Syria's Declared CW Stockpile Removed Today, OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü announced that the last of the remaining chemical weapons and precursors identified for removal from Syria were loaded…

Statement of Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director, Arms Control AssociationTen months ago, the government of Bashar al-Assad launched a horrific Sarin gas attack that killed over 1,000 civilians on the outskirts of Damascus. The August 21 attack prompted the United States and Russia to strike an agreement that put into motion an expeditious plan for accounting, inspection, control, and elimination of Syria's deadly arsenal under the auspices of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Today, OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü announced that the last of the remaining…

Hit or Miss, Sunday's Missile Defense Test Will Not Justify Expansion If the interceptor in Sunday's test hits, its test record would be one-for-three. Good for baseball, bad for stopping nukes. The United States has better alternatives. By Tom Z. Collina In 2004, President George W. Bush began fielding the Ground-Based Missile Defense (GMD) system that is in place today, composed of 30 interceptor missiles in Alaska and California, intended to counter a possible long-range missile attack from North Korea or Iran. Ten years later, it is all-too clear that the prototype system was rushed into…