Iran Tests Missile, Congress Moves Sanctions

We are happy to serve you a daily summary of the day's top nuclear policy stories each morning, with excerpts from the stories in bullet form.

Stories we're following today:

Iran Says It Tested Upgraded Long-Range Missile - Associated Press [link]

• Iran on Wednesday test-fired an upgraded version of its most advanced missile, which is capable of hitting Israel and parts of Europe, in a new show of strength aimed at preventing any military strike against it amid the nuclear standoff with the West.
• The Sajjil-2 was first tested in May. Iranian officials touted it as a breakthrough over the Sajjil-1 unveiled months earlier, saying the new missile had a more sophisticated navigation system. The Sajjil-2 was tested a second time in September.

Iran Sanctions Debate Moves to the Senate - The Cable [link]

• With the House having passed the Howard Berman's Iran sanctions bill Tuesday, the action now turns to the Senate, where negotiations over Chris Dodd's companion legislation are ongoing.
• Those discussions are based on a letter from Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg to Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, D-MA. In the letter, State asked Kerry to delay the Senate bill until next year so that the administration would have more time to prep for the "pressure track" and also to secure some changes to the legislation.

White House Not Expecting Weapons Treaty this Week - Washington Post [link]

• Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the U.S. and Russia continued to make progress on negotiations for a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as START, and that he hoped an agreement would be reached soon. But the spokesman said there was no signing ceremony planned in Copenhagen, nor did he expect there to be any additional stops in nearby countries.
• At the private Arms Control Association, executive director Daryl Kimball said, "This news is discouraging because this could mean a lengthy delay in the conclusion of this modest but important agreement to cut U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals."

Barack Obama Sends Letter to Kim Jong-il - The Guardian [link]

• A senior US official, who confirmed Bosworth handed North Korean officials a personal letter from Obama and who spoke under the condition of anonymity, would not describe the contents of the letter but said they fitted with the envoy's message.
• The North Koreans have a choice: continued and further isolation or benefits for returning to the six-party talks and dismantling their nuclear weapons programme," he said

Neocons Beating Wardrums on Iran - Max Bergmann in the Wonk Room [link]

• Just as the House is preparing to pass extremely counterproductive legislation on sanctions, neoconservative outlets, while supporting these measures, are now vocal in saying that if enacted they won’t work.
• In a rash of action in the op-ed pages today, neoconservatives were busy deploring the Iranian regime arguing that they can’t be deterred and calling on Obama to do something – and while none of these writers explicitly stated what that something is, we have a pretty good idea.

A View from the Dark Side

Why Iran can't be contained - Danielle Pletka in the Washington Post [link]

• The common notion of deterrence is ill-designed for the regime in Tehran.
• Advocates of a containment policy suggest that in the absence of effective diplomacy or sanctions that deliver results, the stark U.S. options are acquiescence or military action.
• There are few good options available to roll back Iran's nuclear weapons program. Nonetheless, after a year of false starts and failed initiatives, the Obama administration should be pressed to find a new way forward.
• Note: See above post from Max Bergmann.