EU Moves Forward With Expanded Sanctions on Iran

Today's top nuclear policy stories, with excerpts in bullet form.

Stories we're following today, Wednesday, June 16, 2010: 

EU Shapes Expanded Sanctions Against Iran - The Wall Street Journal [link]

• European Union leaders are set to authorize a list of sectors for sanctions on Iran that goes further than those adopted in a United Nations Security Council resolution last week.
• The proposed EU sanctions, which are aimed at pressuring Tehran to curb its nuclear program, include curbing investment and technology transfers in Iran's oil and gas industry, and also target aspects of Iran's finance, insurance, trade, banking and transport sectors.
• EU leaders will also seek curbs on so-called dual-use goods.
• Because of Europe's continuing trade links with Iran, its extended sanctions on Iran often have more practical significance than those of the U.S., whose commercial relations with the country are limited.

Defense Cuts Could Save Nearly $1 Trillion Over 10 Years - Nukes of Hazard Blog [link]

• Debt, Deficits, & Defense: A Way Forward, a new report that identifies options for nearly $1 trillion in savings over the next 10 years within the Department of Defense, was produced by the Sustainable Defense Task Force, a group of defense policy wonks put together by Representative Barney Frank to propose possible cuts to the military budget.
• “I do not believe after this [proposed plan] is circulated that people will be able to dismiss the argument that you can responsibly, and at no cost to America’s genuine security," Frank said.
• Cuts include further reductions to the U.S. nuclear arsenal and limits on the planned modernization of the nuclear weapons complex, which could save approximately $140 billion over 10 years.
• When asked what his top three priorities might be for realistic savings within the defense budget, Frank included both nuclear weapons and missile defense.

Domestic and International Pressures Build in Iran - Karim Sadjadpour on The Diane Rehm Show [link]

• A year after the controversial June 12, 2009 presidential elections, the Iranian opposition seems to be operating out of sight.
• He suggested that the opposition should move beyond street protests and reach out to workers in Iran, in particular those who work in the oil industry, in order to initiate strikes.
• The recent UN sanctions are, Sadjadpour contended, “a starting point, not a finishing line. The question is, will these sanctions change the calculations of the regime in regards to their nuclear program," Sadjadpour said.
• To listen to the full broadcast including interviews with Karim Sadjadpour, Nicholas Burns, and Robin Wright, click here.  For further analysis of this segment of The Diane Rehm Show, see below.

Nick Burns on the NPT - Jeffrey Lewis for Arms Control Wonk [link]

• This morning on The Diane Rehm Show today [a caller] asked “Why is it okay for some countries to have nuclear weapons, but not for others?” in reference to Iran and former Undersecretary of State Nick Burns tried to answer it. He flubbed it, badly.
• Burns basically asserted that the five permanent members of the Security Council won World War II and wrote the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
• The fact that, today, the P5 and the NWS are the same is just an unfortunate coincidence.
• If Israel had tested the nuclear weapon it almost certainly had in 1966, it would have been “in” the club. Same for India, had it moved more expeditiously.
• The arbitrary distinction had nothing to do with Security Council membership — indeed, one of the better arguments for Security Council reform is that the unfortunate coincidence of the P5 also being the NPT nuclear weapons states gives rather the wrong impression.

If Crass Politics Trump Our National Security, Then What? - Kelsey Hartigan for Democracy Arsenal [link]

• The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) will limit the number of nuclear weapons held by the two largest nuclear powers in the world. The treaty facilitates transparency and stability between the U.S. and Russia.
• Unless of course, “The Party of No” decides to play political games.
• Then our window into the Russian arsenal goes up in flames, our strategic relationship is severely damaged, and any and all international legitimacy is wiped clean.
• If the United States Senate fails to provide its advice and consent to ratify the New START accord, it will be because some senators blatantly ignored the advice of our top national security experts and because they chose a political talking point over our national security.