Pope Praises Iran Nuclear Agreement

Pope praises Iran accord - “Pope Francis has just announced his support for President Obama’s historic nuclear peace deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” reports Colin Taylor for Occupy Democrats. “The Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, announced at the International Atomic Energy Association that ‘we hope that the full implementation of [the nuclear deal] will ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program under the [Non-Proliferation Treaty] and will be a definitive step toward greater stability and security in the region.’”

--“The Pope praised the peaceful intentions of the deal and had some implicit criticism for the deal’s detractors… : ‘The way to resolve disputes and difficulties should always be that of dialogue and negotiation. It is clear that the agreement requires further efforts and commitment by all the parties involved in order for it to bear fruit. For its part, the IAEA’s indispensable role in nuclear safety and waste disposal, verification and monitoring will become ever more important as the use of peaceful nuclear energy expands and as the world moves toward nuclear disarmament.’” Read full story here. http://bit.ly/1NFS3KU

Tweet - @AC360: It’s not a strategy to tear up an agreement - @JebBush on #IranDeal. Latest on #CNNDebate http://cnn.it/1iRXA4l

The rising cost of nukes - “... The FY16 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan (SSMP) shows a significant increase in cost estimates for most life extension programs (LEPs) when compared with the FY15 SSMP, which showed a largely unexplained drop in cost estimates from those in the FY14 report,” writes Eryn MacDonald for Union of Concerned Scientists. “The newer cost estimates for individual programs have now increased to what may be a more realistic level, although don’t be surprised if there are further increases to come.” Read full report here. http://bit.ly/1Kjlg8B

A rare nuclear-ambitious breed - “Speaking Wednesday… [Secretary of State John Kerry] said the imposition of sanctions against Iran, which also has aspirations as a nuclear power, influenced Tehran to change its direction and end their isolation from the international community. But he said Pyongyang's ‘almost total absence of a legitimate economy’ meant that the same strategy may not work with North Korea,” report Paul Armstrong and Jethro Mullen for CNN.”

-- “Kerry warned there will be ‘severe consequences’ if North Korea does not refrain from ‘its irresponsible provocations that aggravate regional concerns, make the region less safe, and refuse -- if it refuses to live up to its international obligations. Our position is clear: We will not accept... [North Korea] as a nuclear weapons state, just as we said that about Iran.’” Get full story here. http://cnn.it/1NFKgwX

Crisis averted - The Man Who Saved the World, hitting theaters Friday, “tells the harrowing story of Sept. 26, 1983, when Stanislav Petrov made a decision credited by many with averting a nuclear war. An alarm had gone off that night, signaling the launch of U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles, and it was up to the 44-year-old lieutenant colonel to determine, and quickly, whether the attack on the Soviet Union was real. ‘I realized that I had to make some kind of decision, and I was only 50/50,’ Petrov told The Associated Press.” Read full story here in New York Post. http://bit.ly/1KoFltd

Tweet - @BulletinAtomic: Leonard Weiss on a #nuclear test thought to have been conducted by #Israel in 1979 #nukes http://bit.ly/1VTBpZK

Non-nuclear Nazis - “According to an investigation published this month in the journal Angewandte Chemie, 1940s uranium samples from Germany don’t show evidence of a self-sustained nuclear chain reaction — the chemical underpinnings of an atomic bomb,” writes Carmen Drahl for Forbes. “The study adds scientific support to historical accounts that the Germans didn’t succeed in their wartime nuclear aspirations.” Get the full story here. http://onforb.es/1W4Uf01

The compromise of U.S. leadership - “The agreement between six world powers and Iran to limit the latter’s nuclear development is, to be sure, a major achievement for the United States: Under Washington’s political and technical leadership, the deal brings Tehran into compliance with the global nonproliferation regime without a single shot being fired. While the negotiations showed Washington’s willingness and ability to lead a multilateral arms control effort, though, the deal’s convoluted and uncertain path to Congressional acceptance has broad implications for the United States’ ability to enter arms control agreements in the future.”

--“Undermining the US president’s ability to conduct foreign policy sets a dangerous precedent, signaling weakness to adversaries and allies alike. If the United States wants to remain a global leader on nonproliferation and arms control, it needs to maintain its credibility — which it can’t do if Congress, acting outside of its mandate, won’t let the president enter agreements without dragging him through the dirt.” Read full article here. http://bit.ly/1Meqg13

Quick Hits:

--“Fact-Checking the Republican Candidates’ Iran Deal Claims,” by Joshua Keating for Slate. http://slate.me/1W4z9Ph

--“Why Do So Many People Want So Little From the Agreement With Iran?,” by Stephen M. Walt in Foreign Policy. http://atfp.co/1KqoLxv

--“Are we closer than ever to nuclear war?,” by Antony Funnell and Rosanna Ryan in Future Tense. http://ab.co/1UYJjUx

--“Revealed: Australia's Failed Bid for Nuclear Weapons,” by Chris Walsh in The National Interest. http://bit.ly/1KTz7b6

Events:

--“Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future,” featuring Henry Sokolski. Thursday, September 17th from 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM. Teleconference hosted by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1KQhBoo

--“Boston to Tehran: On the Edge of Progress,” featuring Amb. Peter Galbraith, Dr. Jim Walsh and Angela Canterbury. Thursday, September 17th from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM at Hampshire House, 84 Beacon Street, Third Floor, Boston, MA. Buy tickets here. http://bit.ly/1iS4dDO

--“The Next Steps Regarding the Implementation of the Iran Deal,” featuring Gary Samore. Friday, September 18th at 11:30 AM. Teleconference sponsored by the Israeli Policy Forum. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1O5Mdm6

--“A Post-Iran Deal Security Agenda: Containment, Cooperation or Both?,” featuring Suzanne DiMaggio, Nasser Hadlan, Douglas Ollivant and Heather Hurlburt. Monday, September 21 from 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM at New America, 1899 L Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1ispCUd