Digests and Blog

  On Thursday, Aug. 6, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) came out against the negotiated nuclear agreement between the United States, other world powers, and Iran. If implemented, the deal will block Iran’s pathways to nuclear weapons for well over a decade and put in place more intrusive monitoring to guard against covert activity permanently. In his statement, Schumer said he would vote in favor of a resolution disapproving the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that was negotiated on July 14. In an Aug. 6 post, Schumer explained his decision, which he said…

Arms Control Today recently reported on emerging details of the Air Force’s plan for the long-range standoff weapon (LRSO). The LRSO is a replacement for the Air Force’s current, 1980s-vintage air-launched cruise missile (ALCM). The Air Force plans to build 1,000-1,100 of the new cruise missiles at a projected acquisition cost of about $9 billion. After adding the $7-9.5 billion cost of life-extension for the associated warheads (according to estimates of the National Nuclear Security Administration), the total cost of replacing the existing ALCM could be close to $20 billion.  Producing a…

U.S. Officials go to Congress, European Officials to Tehran As administration officials continue to make the case to members of Congress of the benefits of a nuclear deal with Iran, European officials were in Tehran this week to discuss implementation of the comprehensive agreement and other elements of cooperation. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini visited Tehran on Tuesday, July 28. Mogherini told press after a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that the purpose of her visit was to “to start the concrete work on the implementation of the deal.” Mogherini…

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) reported that the Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) met in Seoul on June 25 and 26 to “rally support for the for the Treaty’s entry into force and to highlight the threat posed by nuclear weapons testing.” The Group of Eminent Persons was established on September 26, 2013, and its members include current and former foreign ministers, prime ministers, defense ministers, and diplomatic leaders from all over the world. As previously reported by the Project for the CTBT, the GEM met in Stockholm on April 10-11, 2014. The South Korean…

The Administration Makes Its Case Obama administration officials are out in force on the Capitol Hill and on the airwaves to explain the benefits of the comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran. Secretary of State John Kerry, Energy Secretary Ernie Moniz, and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew testified at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing this morning. For the three secretaries, this is the second trip to Congress in less than 24 hours—the group briefed members of the House and Senate in closed sessions, yesterday. Moniz also pressed his case that the inspections regime outlined in the deal…

On July 14, after nearly two years of tough negotiations, a comprehensive, long-term deal was agreed to between Iran and the United States, Russia, Germany, China, France and the United Kingdom, aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Under the terms of the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is tasked with carrying out an unprecedented level of monitoring and verification. The 159-page document is detailed and complex but its impact on reducing Iran’s nuclear capacity and blocking its ability to…

Start the Clocks With an historic comprehensive nuclear deal in hand, the focus now shifts from Vienna to the domestic stage, where debates over the deal are taking place in Tehran and the capitals of the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States). In the United States the clock started on the sixty-day congressional review period after the Obama administration sent the deal and supporting certifications to Congress on Sunday.   Congress now has until Sept. 17 to decide if it will vote on a resolution to approve or disapprove the agreement. President…

There and Back Again–Ministers and Vienna After a slow weekend, talks picked up on Sunday night with the return of the ministers, but despite this uptick in momentum, will continue beyond the July 7 target date.Today, EU foreign policy chief and P5+1 coordinator Federica Mohgerini announced in Vienna that  the parties are "continuing to negotiate for the next couple of days." State Department Spokeswomen Marie Harf said, "We’re frankly more concerned about the quality of the deal than we are about the clock, though we also know that difficult decisions won’t get any easier with time.” The…

Ministers and Momentum International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano returned from Tehran on Friday after meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Shamkhani. The Iranian press and The Los Angeles Times reported Shamkhani as saying that Iran is ready to continue cooperation with the IAEA to “resolve the remaining issues.” Upon return to Vienna, Amano said on July 3 that he discussed monitoring and verification under a comprehensive deal and the agency's investigation into the possible…

Mr. Amano Goes to Tehran Negotiators decided to extend talks through July 7, with each side agreeing to continue implementation of the November 2013 interim Joint Plan of Action for the next seven days. The decision came after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif returned to Vienna. He brought with him the head of the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, who has been sidelined from many of the negotiations since Lausanne due to health concerns. Negotiators on both sides have said that Salehi’s presence will be an asset to the talks, given his technical expertise and…