Digests and Blog

By Kelsey Davenport The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi and Yukiya Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano, right, after signing an agreement in Tehran on November 11 giving the agency greater access to some nuclear sites in Iran. (Credit: European Pressphoto Agency) The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) most recent report on Iran shows that Tehran is complying with the terms of a deal negotiated with the P5+1 on November 24. The February 20 report confirms that the Joint Plan of Action has halted Iran's…

This bulletin highlights significant events in the world of arms control in the coming days, as compiled by staff and friends of the Arms Control Association. For more news and analysis on these and other weapons-related security issues, consider subscribing to ACA's monthly journal Arms Control Today. Available in print/digital and digital-only subscriptions. - the Editors at Arms Control Today Feb. 18: P5+1 Talks with Iran on Its Nuclear Program Resume In Vienna Diplomats from the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and Iran will convene in…

By Daryl G. Kimball and Kelsey Davenport On Nov. 24, 2013, diplomats from the "P5+1" group (China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom) and Iran secured a breakthrough agreement that sets back Iran's nuclear potential and increases international oversight of Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for limited and reversible sanctions relief. (For a summary the schedule and progress towards implementation, see the ACA fact sheet: "Joint Plan of Action At a Glance.") By pausing progress on key elements of Iran's nuclear program, the first phase agreement provides time for further…

By Greg Thielmann The intelligence community may have missed the impending collapse of Moscow's empire in the late 1980s, but the Worldwide Threat Assessment presented to the Congress earlier this month by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper certainly reflects an awareness that Russia today is no longer an enemy of the United States. How else to explain that Clapper's 27-page Statement for the Record makes no mention of Russia's nuclear arsenal? Cover photo of the NIE 11-3/8-88, December 1988, Soviet Forces and Capabilities for Strategic Nuclear Conflict Through the Late 1990s.…

By Kelsey Davenport Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) broke important new ground on Sunday, with an agreement that will finally allow the agency to begin its investigations into Iran's past nuclear activities with possible military dimensions. Satisfactory resolution of these issues will help demonstrate to the international community that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and that the country is not pursuing nuclear weapons. Included in the seven actions that Iran agreed to take is a commitment to provide information and explanations to the IAEA on its past activities…

This bulletin highlights significant events in the world of arms control in the coming days, as compiled by staff and friends of the Arms Control Association. For more news and analysis on these and other weapons-related security issues, consider subscribing to ACA's monthly journal Arms Control Today. Available in print/digital and digital-only subscriptions. -- the Editors at Arms Control Today Iran and IAEA to Meet on Feb. 8 Representatives of Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will meet on Feb. 8 to discuss options for completing the agency's investigation into Iran's…

By Ashley Luer It has been more than a year since the White House announced that it would "soon" be releasing the results of a U.S. Landmine Policy review that was launched early in President Obama's first term in office. Since 2009, the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) has been urging the Obama administration to conclude its review and to join the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, typically referred to as the "Ottawa Convention" or "Mine Ban Treaty." The Mine Ban Treaty requires that…

This bulletin highlights significant events in the world of arms control in the coming days, as compiled by staff and friends of the Arms Control Association. For more news and analysis on these and other weapons-related security issues, consider subscribing to ACA's monthly journal Arms Control Today. Available in print/digital and digital-only subscriptions. - the Editors at Arms Control Today Feb. 4: Senate Hearing on "Negotiations on Iran's Nuclear Program" With the formal implementation of the "first phase" agreement on Iran's nuclear program underway, attention is now turning to the…

By Greg Thielmann On Jan. 29, The Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, provided testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence implicitly contradicting the arguments of those criticizing the Joint Plan of Action now being implemented by Iran and its six negotiating partners. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testifies on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) Clapper repeated the conclusion, first published in a 2007 national intelligence assessment, that "...Iran has the scientific…

By Tom Z. Collina In the wake of alarming reports that some Air Force nuclear-armed missile operators have been cheating on performance tests, using drugs, napping on duty, failing to follow safety rules, and more, the Pentagon announced Jan. 23 it is setting up an independent review of all U.S. nuclear forces, to be completed in 90 days. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says he is "deeply concerned" about "the overall health, and the professionalism, and discipline of our strategic forces." But the scope of this review—limited to personnel issues—must be expanded. At its core, the problems…