Zarif: Balanced Nuclear Deal Within Reach

Zarif - “I believe [achieving final nuclear deal] can be done. I believe it should be done,” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said at an event yesterday. “We’re committed to this process… This is an opportunity which should not be wasted because we try to score points with each other at this stage.”

--“It’s not a perfect agreement. It’s not perfect for us, it’s not perfect for the United States, it’s not perfect for our European Union partners. But it’s the best we can get. It’s the best anybody can get. And it’s balanced, in my view.” Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1IrKovW

--How it played:

--“Why Iran’s foreign minister is bullish on a nuclear pact” by Barbara Slavin for Al-Jazeera America. http://alj.am/1DECokz

--“Iran’s Foreign Minister Says U.S. Risks Ostracism if Signed Nuclear Deal Is Scrapped” by Rick Gladstone of The New York Times. http://nyti.ms/1bYnIHA

--“Iran flexible on sanctions timing in order to seal nuclear deal, Zarif suggests” by Spencer Ackerman for The Guardian. http://bit.ly/1IrNFLP

Tweet - @JZarif: Was a pleasure to join @IgnatiusPost for a frank conversation on #IranTalks, region & beyond at NYU. Video: http://t.co/r4FTnURXV1

Amendment rejected - By 54-45, the Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) to the Corker-Cardin bill that would have required the president to certify Iran is not supporting terrorism against Americans. Full story from Reuters. http://reut.rs/1Ai8thQ

Amendments expected - A number of proposed amendments to the Corker-Cardin bill allowing for Congressional review of the Iran deal threaten the entire bill. Sen Marco. Rubio (R-FL) has an amendment mandating Iran recognize Israel, and is expected to join Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) in sponsoring an amendment requiring Iran to release three American prisoners, The Wall Street Journal reports. http://on.wsj.com/1Al9INh

--See also: “Marco Rubio won’t back away from Iran amendments that could scuttle deal” by Burgess Everrett for POLITICO. http://politi.co/1DWOqGx

De-alerting - A new Global Zero Commission report calls for de-alerting measures “that eliminate the ability to fire nuclear forces quickly and conversely require lengthy visible preparations to get them ready for launch.”

--The commission was chaired by former STRATCOM commander Gen. James Cartwright (USMC ret.) and backed by more than 75 former senior political officials, national security experts and top military commanders.

--Recommendations include: “a revamping of U.S. and Russian nuclear postures… progressive reductions in the U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles… bilateral and multilateral agreements [against] placing nuclear forces on high alert status… the convening of the first-in-history multilateral nuclear weapons summit to consider proposals for achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.” Read the full report here (pdf): http://bit.ly/1Q2J05k

Video - Rep. John Garamendi (R-CA) introduced a series of amendments to the NDAA calling for greater transparency and oversight of the nuclear weapons budget. The House Armed Services Committee rejected the amendments. Watch Rep. Garamendi’s speech here: http://on.fb.me/1zgkpFQ

Tweet - @RepGaramendi: At current pace, we could spend $1 trillion over next 30 years on #nuclearweapons programs. This deserves full debate.

Report - The Project on Middle East Political Science has a new compilation of expert arguments on “Iran and the Nuclear Deal.”

--Highlights: “Iran’s political economy under and after the sanctions” by Kevan Harris; “What Americans really think about an Iran deal” by Steven Kull and Shibley Telhami; and “Why and Iran deal won’t lead to nuclear proliferation” by Dina Esfandiary and Ariane Tabatabai. (pdf) http://bit.ly/1DED35D

Tweet - @julianborger: Be calm, says @FitzpatrickIISS - a bit of Iranian centrifuge procurement is not going derail nuclear #IranTalks http://t.co/epxp8sdzqO

NK reactor - “Satellite images taken between January and this month show a North Korean nuclear reactor that can yield material for atomic bombs may be operating again at low power or intermittently,” Reuters reports. http://reut.rs/1Q1iOrP

Tracking trafficking - The number of global trafficking incidents involving nuclear or radiological materials increased to 170 in 2014, compared to 155 in 2013, according to a new report by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and Nuclear Threat Initiative.

--Key findings: “Materials are particularly vulnerable during transport… Human error was the culprit in many of the incidents profiled… Many reported incidents involved radioactive sources used in applications for which non-radioactive alternatives exist.” Summary and full report here: http://bit.ly/1OICCCT

Made in USA - “American companies make every single item on Iran’s nuclear shopping list—and do so at arguably unparalleled levels of quality and affordability. It’s probably for those very reasons that Iranian procurers have, since the Islamic Revolution, repeatedly sought American-made nuclear equipment,” writes Nick Gillard on the history, economics and politics of Iran seeking nuclear equipment made in the USA. Full post in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. http://bit.ly/1IroclG

Quick Hits:

-- “Cotton, Iranian leader tangle again on social media” from CNN. http://cnn.it/1FA4qnc

--“US patrols Strait of Hormuz after Iran seizes cargo ship” from Stars and Stripes. http://1.usa.gov/1IoxTkQ

Events:

--"From Nuclear Deterrence to Disarmament: Evolving Catholic Perspectives," featuring Desmond Browne, Rev. Bryan Hehir, Rev. Antoine Abi Ghanem and Maryann Cusimano Love. May 7th from 6:00-8:00pm, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs (170 E. 64th St., New York). RSVP here using the promotional code ND5715: http://bit.ly/1AgdCqG

--Arms Control Association annual meeting, featuring keynotes Alexander Kmett, Austrian Director of Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament, and Colin Kahl, National Security Advisor to Vice President. May 14th from 9:00am-2:30pm at Carnegie. http://bit.ly/1dsD8V0

--”Deterrent Options for the Future,” remarks by Linton Brooks, former NNSA Administrator, at the Huessy Congressional breakfast Series. May 19th from 8:00am-9:00am at the Capitol Hill Club. http://conta.cc/1DKftpf