Morning Joe: The Problems with Gas Sanctions on Iran

Stories we're following today:

Sanctions Unlikely to Stop Iran's Nuclear Quest - TIME [link]

• [The proposed gas sanctions] sound impressive and, for an undiversified economy like Iran's, potentially calamitous. But a number of Iran analysts are skeptical that new sanctions will break the stalemate.
• Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment - "As Napoleon once said, 'If your enemy is destroying himself, don't interfere.' The truth is, we don't know how sanctions on refined petroleum could play out, and our bottom line should be to do no harm to the prospects for political change in Iran."

UN Chief Calls for Action on Weapons, Climate Change - AFP [link]

• UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Monday for renewed international efforts to tackle the twin threats to the world posed by nuclear weapons and climate change.
• "For the first time in a decade, negotiators have agreed to a package of measures that can move the world away from nuclear weapons... Now is our time... the time to build on this momentum."

India Inspects North Korea Ship for Nuclear Material - Reuters [link]

• Indian authorities were inspecting a North Korean ship detained in the Bay of Bengal for nuclear material or fuel, officials said on Monday, the latest sign of the international noose tightening around the North.

Past Nuclear Horrors, Future Nuclear Hopes - Daniel Oppenheim in Maine's Sun Journal [link]

• In fact, today marks a unique window of opportunity to curtail the nuclear threat and make America and the world safer. American leaders, such as President Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, have recently called for steps to reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal and work toward a nuclear-weapon-free world. The first step, already in motion, is agreeing to nuclear weapons reductions with Russia.
  

Foreign Policy's Twitterati 100 - Foreign Policy [link]

• Thank you FP for putting me (@cirincione) on the list. It is an honor. Go Nats!

The Lighter Side

Yes! New Missile Defense Game: The Interceptor - Nukes of Hazard [link]

Play it now!