Iranian Parliament Endorses Nuclear Accord

Iranian parliament ratifies nuclear deal - “Iran’s conservative-dominated parliament has endorsed the landmark nuclear agreement struck earlier this year, clearing the last hurdle before both sides begin work to implement it next week,” reports Saeed Dehghan for The Guardian. “The Iranian parliament, the Majlis, on Tuesday passed a motion to approve the nuclear deal after heated discussions and sharp exchanges between MPs and the moderate administration of Hassan Rouhani.”

--“Rouhani came to power in 2013 promising greater transparency over Iran’s nuclear programme and vowed to bring what he repeatedly described as a cruel sanctions regime to an end. If Tehran and its negotiating partners, the P5+1 group implement the agreement fully, it will be a huge victory for both sides in resolving one of the world’s most complicated crises peacefully and through diplomatic means.” Read full story here. http://bit.ly/1Mo8s19

Tweet - ‏@FedericaMog: Good news from Teheran today: parliamentary process of the nuclear deal completed, getting closer to formal adoption #IranDeal

Iran’s missile test not in violation - “On Sunday, Iran’s Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said that the country test-fired a new surface-to-surface Emad (Pillar) missile,” reports Sputnik News. “According to Dehghan, the rocket, indigenously designed and manufactured, represents “the first Iran's long-range missile that can be directed and controlled till it strikes the target.”

-- “According to the US official, cited by the media on Monday, the test ‘likely’ violated UN Security Council Resolution 1929, prohibiting Iran from undertaking any activity related to ballistic missiles. He stressed, however, that the test was not in violation of the Iran nuclear agreement signed in July as the deal aimed only at keeping Tehran’s nuclear program peaceful restricting Tehran's access to nuclear weapons.” Get full story here. http://bit.ly/1R8TGyR

N. Korea showcases upgraded missiles - “North Korea on Saturday showed off what it said were long-range ballistic missiles carrying miniaturised nuclear warheads, its latest claim to the sophisticated technology which state television said could destroy enemies in a ‘sea of fire’. Rows of the intercontinental ballistic missiles known as KN-08, which some think could fly far enough to reach the continental US, were paraded through the capital as part of a massive military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the ruling Workers Party.”

--“Leader Kim Jong-Un on Saturday told crowds assembled for the parade that the country's armed forces ‘are capable of fighting any kind of war provoked by the US and we are ready to protect our people and the blue sky of our motherland’... Chae Yeon-Seok at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, [cautioning] that the missiles might be mock-ups [said], ‘It has never been verified that North Korea has developed any nuclear-tipped ICBMs.’” Read full story at Yahoo News here. http://yhoo.it/1R8UeET

Tweet - ‏@ctbto_alerts: #otd in 2006: 1st #nuclear test by North Korea. Here's how we detected the latest one (no, no flashing red lights) http://bit.ly/1K6wSuh

Cold War nuke drills make comeback - “Announcing plans to double Nato’s rapid-Response Force to 40,000 troops after a meeting in Brussels, Britain called for a return to Cold War-style planning exercises to test Nato readiness to escalate from conventional to nuclear war,” write Matthew Holehouse and Peter Foster for The Telegraph. “As part of the show of determination to Moscow, Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, announced the UK would station about 100 additional troops in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and would also send 25 soldiers to a training mission in Ukraine.”

--“The proposed simulations would allow senior staff to rehearse the ‘transition up the escalatory ladder’ from regular warfare to a full-blown nuclear confrontation,” Britain’s ambassador to Nato said. “The move, if approved, would be a response to the Kremlin’s decision to order increasing numbers of drills – often held without warning – in which nuclear and conventional forces are heavily intertwined... Russia has announced 4,000 drills this year, ten times more than Nato, the Alliance said.” Read full story here. http://bit.ly/1VItQTF

Ben Carson on nukes - “In a Sunday interview with Sharyl Attkisson, Ben Carson said events around the globe allows for one to speculate that we are closer to the end times,” writes Ray Nothstine for the Christian Post… ‘You do have people who have a belief system that sees this apocalyptic phenomenon occurring, and they're a part of it, and who would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons if they gain possession of them.’ Carson said there is a chance to change this course and ‘ameliorate the situation,’ adding that he would do ‘everything to seek peace’ and not take ‘a fatalistic view of things.’” Read full story here. http://bit.ly/1WZNDAw

Quick Hits:

--“The Psychology of Nuclear Restraint”, by Jacques E.C. Hymans for Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist. http://bit.ly/1Movi8U

--“The Days of MOX are numbered”, by Ed Lyman for Union of Concerned Scientists. http://bit.ly/1juXsrw

--“Will 3-D Printers Produce Nuclear Weapons One Day?”, by Russ Wellen for Foreign Policy in Focus. http://bit.ly/1Mwkf1U

Events:

--“Is U.S. Missile Defense Aimed at China?”, featuring Theodore Postol and Tong Zhao. Thursday, October 15th from 2:00 - 3:00 PM at Carnegie Endowment, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC. RSVP here. http://ceip.org/1L9dxMM

--“Time to Change the Narrative: Next Generation Engagement in the Nuclear Disarmament Debate”, featuring Paul Ingram. Thursday, October 15th at 4:00 PM at FCNL, Wilson Conference Room, 245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC. RSVP here. rstaley@basicint.org

--“Prevention of and Response to the Arrival of a Dirty Bomb at a U.S. Port”, hearing by House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. Tuesday, October 27th at 10:00 AM. Webcast on committee site here. http://1.usa.gov/1Moxnl8

--“Think Nuclear-Free Symposium! The Nuclear-Free Future Award”, sponsored by Green Cross International and the Heinrich Böll Foundation Washington. Thursday, October 29th from 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM at Goethe-Institut Washington, 812 7th St. NW, Washington, DC. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1P0wMfy

--“Nuclear Detonation Effects in an Urban Area”, featuring John Mercier. Tuesday, November 10th from 12:00 - 1:30 PM at the Department of Science and Technology in Society at Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech Research Center, 900 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, VA. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1KXP39b