A Vital Step for Promoting Nuclear Security

Moving forward - “Obama showed vision in launching the Nuclear Security Summits in 2010, but they have not produced the robust and durable security regime needed to prevent nuclear terrorism,” write former IAEA Ambassadors Kenneth Brill and John Bernhard in The Washington Post. “With the summit process drawing to a close, the time has come to develop a global nuclear security regime commensurate with the threat.”

--The vital first step, the authors argue, is negotiating the first International Convention on Nuclear Security, which could establish binding standards for securing nuclear and other radioactive material based on the IAEA’s currently voluntary guidance, as well as a process for assessing the implementation of those standards. http://wapo.st/1Ct10kl

Iran reaches out - Iran’s President Rouhani wrote a letter to President Obama in an effort to achieve a breakthrough in the nuclear talks by the end of the month. President Hassan Rouhani also personally called the leaders of France, Britain, China and Russia on Thursday, reports Reuters. http://reut.rs/1FIGVsW

Gaps remain - “Major powers and Iran were pushing each other for concessions on Friday ahead of an end-March deadline for a preliminary nuclear deal, with Tehran demanding an immediate end to sanctions and freedom to continue sensitive atomic research,” reports Reuters. The P5+1 have firmly opposed these demands, and a Western official close to the talks confirmed that “centrifuge research and enrichment in general remained the most difficult unresolved issue.”

--The United States and European partners are also reluctant “to allow Iran to operate centrifuges at the Fordow enrichment site, Western officials said, adding that the issue was unresolved.” Full story here. http://reut.rs/1bBp5vi

Khamenei’s legacy - “This could very well be Khamenei’s legacy” writes Trita Parsi for The Atlantic. “The supreme leader is not expected to live much longer, and if his negotiators strike a nuclear deal that he favors, it could in his eyes be the realization of the promise of the Islamic Revolution.”

--“Ultimately, even though it may be hard to stomach, it benefits the United States that hardliners in Iran have figured out how to present a nuclear deal as a win for themselves. It's certainly preferable to them behaving like Washington's hawks, who have wasted no opportunity to derail this opportunity for peace.” http://theatln.tc/1BsnqNV

Israeli signals - In another sign that a framework agreement may be close, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has begun to signal that Israel could accept a deal that allows Iran some limited enrichment capacity. This marks a shift for the Prime Minister, who previously argued for complement dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program. Reuters reports. http://reut.rs/1ODbkeQ

Our Man in Tehran - A New York Times feature on their Tehran bureau chief, Thomas Erdbrink: http://nyti.ms/18V8DEt

More domino myth - The Saudi Ambassador to the United States said in a recent CNN interview that he “would not rule out the possibility of the Saudis creating their own nuclear bomb to counterbalance a nuclear-armed Iran.” http://cnn.it/1BtKUCc

--Despite the rhetoric, Saudi Arabia’s disincentives for developing nuclear weapons far outweigh the incentives, according to this in-depth analysis from the Center for a New American Security (pdf): http://bit.ly/1F1egfQ

India’s nuclear security - “The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urged India on Friday to further tighten its nuclear safety regulations by assuring the legal independence of its atomic watchdog and allowing more outside inspections,” reports Reuters. http://reut.rs/1FRhPbj

Quick hits:

--“Iran Says Nuke Talks Focused Despite Yemen Crisis,” report from AP. http://apne.ws/1nC3UXZ

--“Taking to Twitter, Iran’s President Argues for Rapid End to Sanctions,” by Michael Gordon and David Sanger for The New York Times. http://nyti.ms/19YUBD0

--“After Iran Letter, Democrat Proposes to Take Away Tom Cotton's Stationery,” by Bloomberg http://bloom.bg/1F15ajh

--“Republicans, U.S. mainstream at odds over Iran talks,” by Steve Benen for msnbc. http://on.msnbc.com/1MbFy9S

--“Compensation rules for ill Hanford nuclear workers likely to be eased,” by Renee Lewis for Aljazeera. http://alj.am/1xiWSTG

Events:

--“Deal or no deal? Negotiating with Iran.” Featuring Robert Einhorn, Senior Fellow, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative of Brookings, William Galston, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies of Brookings and Suzanne Maloney, Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy of Brookings. April 1 from 10:00AM – 11:30 AM. Located at The Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 2003. http://brook.gs/1x8WE1a

--“Paths to Disarmament: The NPT and the Humanitarian Initiative.” Featuring John Loretz, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, and Martin Fleck, Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). April 2 from 8:00-9:00 PM EST. Online webinar sponsored by PSR. RSVP online. http://bit.ly/1Oek3Ur

--“The Fate of South Africa’s Nuclear Material.” Featuring Douglas Birch, R. Jeffrey Smith, Matthew Bunn, Thomas Wheeler and Togzhan Kassenova. April 6 from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM EST. Hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Located at 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC. Register online. http://ceip.org/1yjihqR

--Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, hearing on the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) budget. With Frank Klotz, Administrator, NNSA; and four other witnesses. April 15 at 2:30 PM. Located at 222 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington Dc. Webcast on the committee website. http://1.usa.gov/1FLDB07

--House Armed Services Committee, markup of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which includes the nuclear weapons and nonproliferation programs of the National Nuclear Security Administration. April 29 at 10:00 AM. Located at 2118 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Webcast on the committee website. http://armedservices.house.gov/

Dessert:

Destructive cat litter - “An incompatible combination of nitrate salts and organic cat litter is to blame for a mishap that forced the closure of the nation's only underground nuclear waste repository, according to findings released Thursday by an independent team of experts from national laboratories around the country.” AP reports. http://abcn.ws/1BtQfcC