Digests and Blog

OPCW Headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands By Daryl G. Kimball (The Hague, Netherlands) -- This week diplomats from the member states of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention met for four days at the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for their 18th Conference of States Parties. The meeting itself went smoothly and Ahmet Üzümcü was re-appointed by acclamation for a second term as OPCW Director-General. But this was no ordinary meeting of the OPCW states parties. It was the first since the horrific sarin gas attacks killed over 1,000 civilians on the…

By Kelsey Davenport Mohamed ElBaradei speaks at a press conference during his tenure as Director-General of the IAEA. The United Nations Security Council has adopted six resolutions as part of the international community's efforts to address Iran's controversial nuclear program. Collectively, these resolutions require that Iran suspend its most-proliferation sensitive activities and encourage Tehran to work with the international community on a negotiated solution that ensures that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful. The Security Council took up consideration of Iran's nuclear program in…

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 OPCW Conference of States Parties, Dec. 2-6 in The Hague The general conference of states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention will meet at the headquarters of the Organisation for the…

This bulletin highlights significant events in the world of arms control in the coming week, as compiled by staff and friends of the Arms Control Association. (Send your suggestions for events to be covered here.) - the Editors at Arms Control Today Iran Talks to Resume in Geneva Negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, and Germany) resume in Geneva on Nov. 20. The two sides appear to be very close to a "first phase" agreement that would pause Iran's nuclear progress and address the most urgent activities of proliferation concern in…

As the most recent round of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) wound down on November 10, an unlikely player emerged center-stage in the press coverage of the negotiations: the Arak heavy water reactor. The Arak reactor represents a potential second pathway for Iran to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons. Heavy water reactors are particularly well-suited for plutonium production, which must be separated from the radioactive spent fuel of the reactor if it is to be used for weapons. For this reason, the…

By Kelsey Davenport, Daryl G. Kimball, and Greg Thielmann (Updated November 18) 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) During the negotiations in Geneva on November 7-10, Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) made significant progress toward reaching a "first…

This bulletin highlights significant events in the world of arms control in the coming week, as compiled by staff and friends of the Arms Control Association. (Send your suggestions for events to be covered here.) - the Editors at Arms Control Today IAEA Quarterly Report on Iran's Nuclear Program On Monday, IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano will met with top Iranian officials to initial an an updated framework agreement for cooperation. See: . Later this week the IAEA is expected to release an updated quarterly report on Iran's nuclear program. The last report issued in August describes…

By Daryl G. Kimball and Kelsey Davenport (Updated 6:00am, Nov. 11, 2013) US Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Catherine Ashton, lead negotiator for the P5+1, and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Geneva on Nov. 9. After three days of intense, multidimensional talks in Geneva Nov. 7-9, the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, plus Germany) and Iran are closing in on a breakthrough, "first phase" deal that would verifiably halt the progress of Iran's nuclear program. Although the most recent round of talks did not end with an agreement, the talks…

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Nov. 7, before the start of the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/GettyImages) By Daryl G. Kimball and Kelsey Davenport For nearly a decade, negotiators from United States and other major powers have sought but failed to reach a deal with Iran to guard against the possibility that Tehran may someday seek to build nuclear weapons. Since the last major diplomatic opportunity to limit Iran's program was squandered in 2005-06, Iran has increased its capacity to enrich uranium…

By Kelsey Davenport Tero Varjoranta, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards and Iranian Ambassador to the IAEA Reza Najafi address the press on Oct. 29 after two days of talks in Vienna. After the two days of meetings in Vienna the IAEA and Iran issued a joint statement that described the discussions as "substantive" and referenced the "new proposal" presented by Tehran. The proposal was described as containing "practical measures" to "strengthen cooperation and dialogue with a view to future resolutions of all outstanding issues." The IAEA laid out its…