Digests and Blog

Current and former U.S. government officials and military leaders have repeatedly stated that present plans to rebuild the U.S. nuclear arsenal – which could add up to $1 trillion over the next 30 years – are unaffordable given existing budget constraints. This massive price tag comes at a time when other national security bills are coming due, Congress has mandated reductions in planned military spending, and the United States has more nuclear weapons than it needs for its security. Given this state of affairs, reshaping the current nuclear spending blueprint to comport with the fiscal and…

After days of near round-the-clock discussions, negotiators announced Monday Nov. 24 in Vienna that talks between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) would be extended through June 30. Their aim is to complete a political agreement within the next four months, with an additional three months to work out the technical details, according to a statement delivered by P5+1 lead negotiator Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif late on Nov. 24. Ashton and Zarif said that negotiators see a "credible path" toward a…

Flexibility Approaching the final stretch before the Nov. 24 deadline, it remains unclear as to whether or not Iran and the P5+1 (China, Germany, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) will reach an agreement or require more time to get the job done. There is still space between the parties on uranium enrichment and the sequence of sanctions relief under a final deal. Flexibility will be required to close the remaining gaps. Today's meetings included a visit from the Austrian Foreign Minister and a bilateral meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif…

And the Ministers Descend....U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was the first foreign minister from the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to join the talks in Vienna. Kerry arrived at the Coburg Place last evening for a meeting with P5+1 lead negotiator Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The meeting lasted over two hours. Kerry met with Zarif and Ashton again today. Also on the schedule is the arrival of British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabuis. They will meet with Kerry…

Four Days and Counting... With four days left before the Nov. 24 deadline, negotiators are still pushing for a deal and not discussing extension. Talks are ongoing in Vienna today, including a bilateral meeting between Russia and Iran and various technical meetings. Over the past three days, negotiators have met in a variety of formats, including several bilateral meetings between Iran and the United States. Media briefings are scarce, and it is difficult to ascertain how much progress is being made behind closed doors. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will likely play a critical role when…

At a Nov. 14 press conference, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced the release of two reviews, one internal and the other external, on the Pentagon nuclear weapons enterprise.  Ordered in response to the revelations about troubling lapses and poor morale in the nation’s nuclear forces, particularly the ICBM force, the reviews found what Hagel described as “systematic problems.” Hagel attributed the root cause of these shortcomings to “a lack of sustained focus, attention, and resources, resulting in a pervasive sense that a career in the nuclear enterprise offers too few opportunities…

Crunch Time High-level negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 resume in Vienna today, a week out from the Nov. 24 deadline. P5+1 lead negotiator Catherine Ashton, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the political directors from the P5+1 countries (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) are already at the Coburg Palace, where the talks are being held. Zarif and Ashton were scheduled to kick things off with a working lunch. Last week, the P5+1 met in Muscat, Oman on Nov. 11. That meeting followed two days of trilateral talks between Zarif,…

12 Days and Counting... The United States and Iran wrapped up two days of talks on a comprehensive nuclear agreement in Muscat, Oman on Monday. Lead P5+1 negotiator Catherine Ashton joined U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minster Mohammad Javad Zarif. A full meeting of the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and Iran at the political director level followed the trilateral session in Muscat on Tuesday. Negotiators did not give much away about what was accomplished during the two days of talks. Although there was no press…

  Iran is making progress on the additional measures it agreed to take in July to roll back parts of its nuclear program, according to the most recent quarterly report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). While some of these actions are not yet completed, it may be possible for Iran to meet these requirements by the Nov. 24 deadline. According to the Nov. 7 report, Iran is continuing to comply with the conditions of the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), an interim deal that Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) reached in…

Focused on Reaching an Agreement The schedule is now set for the last few weeks of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) on a comprehensive nuclear agreement before their Nov. 24 target date. The P5+1 will meet on Nov. 7 for a coordination meeting, followed by a trilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, and lead P5+1 negotiator Catherine Ashton in Oman on Nov. 9-10. Then, all seven countries will return to Vienna on Nov. 18 for talks through the Nov. 24 deadline. The Arms Control Association will be on the…