Digests and Blog

By Daryl Kimball, Greg Thielmann, and Kelsey Davenport Prime Minister Netanyahu Speaking at the UN General Assembly Sept. 27, 2012Photo Credit: Reuters In his September 27 speech to the UN General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew an explicit "red line" for Iran's nuclear program, both figuratively and literally. However, his meaning was not immediately clear and his reasoning was off base. Netanyahu contended that the time to launch a preventive attack is when Iran has sufficient 20 percent enriched uranium to permit further enrichment to one bomb's worth of weapons-…

On September 6, the General Assembly convened an informal session to observe the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, which was established by the UN General Assembly in 2009 and is officially recognized on August 29 of every year. Much of the meeting was dedicated towards remembering the victims of nuclear testing, particularly those living near the Semipalatinsk test site. Additionally, there were numerous statements of support for CTBT entry into force, as well as calls for nuclear weapons states to maintain the de facto moratorium on nuclear testing. The meeting began with a…

Ashton and Jalili in Moscow in June 2012Photo Credit: AFP By Kelsey Davenport On Tuesday September 18, the top negotiators for the P5+1 and Iran met in Istanbul to continue discussions on Iran's nuclear program. This was the first time that EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili have met in person since the Moscow talks in June. While no new formal negotiating round was announced, this meeting indicates that there is still time to pursue a negotiated solution on Iran's nuclear program. The Arms Control Association obtained the full statement…

 Iranian President Ahmadinejad looking at a fuel rod at Iran's research reactor (Image source: The Guardian). By Greg ThielmannOne of the most significant and underreported developments in the August 30 report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran's nuclear program was the decrease in Iran's stockpile of 20 percent-enriched uranium. The sparse attention given to the stockpile figures in the mainstream media was surprising given that the six powers negotiating with Iran have assigned such a high priority to halting and reversing the growth in this stockpile. In fact, the…

By Oliver Meier  The Büchel military base in southern Germany where some U.S. tactical nuclear weapons are stored. On September 5 the Berliner Zeitung reported that at the May 2012 NATO summit Germany had silently reneged on its goal to advocate withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Germany and committed to spend 250 million Euro to keep nuclear-capable Tornado flying until at least 2024. The report caused a stir of media reports and reactions in the German press and allegations that Berlin had "reversed its previous pledge to remove U.S. bombs from German soil." In fact, Germany has not…

By Greg Thielmann and Kelsey Davenport The IAEA Board of Governors Meeting in September 2012Photo Credit: IAEA The Associated Press reported from Vienna September 11 that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has received "new and significant intelligence" regarding the potential military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program, particularly in the area of computer modeling for the explosive yields of warheads. Close examination of previous IAEA reporting suggests that this intelligence may be significant, but it is not entirely new. The intelligence on computer modeling referred to by…

By Tom Z. Collina A report by the National Research Council (NRC) released today finds that the US Ground-based Missile Defense (GMD) system deployed Alaska and California has "shortcomings" so serious that it recommends the system be completely redesigned, rebuilt and retested. The US taxpayer has spent over $33 billion on the current GMD, according to the report, which was funded by the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency. Moreover, the report finds that "boost-phase" missile defense concepts will not work and that resources should be focused on mid-course intercept, where incomming targets…

By Kelsey Davenport Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Iranian President Ahmadinejad.Photo Credit: FARS With no new high-level talks between the P5+1 and Iran on the calendar, it may be time to consider alternative diplomatic means for engaging with Tehran on its contentious nuclear program. On Friday an interesting case was made for pursuing a "P5+1+1" strategy, which would include Turkey with the original six parties (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) currently negotiating with Iran. Mustafa Kibaroglu, a professor of international relations at Okan…

Presentation by Daryl G. Kimball Executive Director, Arms Control Association Moscow Nuclear Nonproliferation Conference September 7, 2012 Distinguished colleagues, it is an honor to address you at this important meeting on the value of and the path forward on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Since the opening for signature of the CTBT nearly sixteen years ago, the vast majority of the world’s nations have signed and ratified the Treaty. They recognize that nuclear testing is a dangerous and unnecessary vestige of the past and understand that the CTBT is a cornerstone of the…

Nuclear Testing Index, August 29, 2012 2,045: Total number of nuclear weapons tests before the CTBT was opened for signature in September 1996. 9.14 days: Average time between nuclear blasts. 7: Total number of nuclear weapons test explosions after the CTBT was opened for signature in September 1996. 831.4 days: Average time between nuclear blasts. 1,054: Total number of U.S. nuclear weapons tests, involving 1,148 detonations. 928: Number of nuclear weapons tests conducted in Nevada. 15 megatons: Total yield of the largest U.S. explosion, codenamed Bravo. 715: Total number of Soviet/…