Digests and Blog

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 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held a press conference yesterday afternoon that touched on many of the same themes that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed in his remarks: progress in some areas, the commitment to finding solutions to the remaining gaps, and the importance of reaching a comprehensive nuclear deal. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad…

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 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry left Vienna today after a press conference that set a more positive tone than statements made earlier this week by U.S. officials about the nuclear negotiations with Iran. With 5 days left before the July 20 deadline, Kerry did not address the frenzied speculation about whether the talks would be extended, but said that negotiators would remain in Vienna through the 20th and that all parties are…

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. The Weekend In Vienna Several P5+1 foreign ministers trickled into Vienna on Sunday to join the nuclear talks with Iran one week before the interim agreement expires. Speaking to the press ahead of his first meeting at the Coburg Palace where the talks are taking place, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that "significant gaps" still remain, but he hoped to make progress while in Vienna. Secretary of State John Kerry outside the Coburg Palace Hotel…

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…