Mullen Says a Strike on Iran Could Destabilize the Middle East

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January 8, 2010

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We are happy to serve you a daily summary of the day's top nuclear policy stories each morning, with excerpts from the stories in bullet form.  

Stories we're following today:

Iran Strike Could Destabilize Middle East: Pentagon - Reuters [link]

  • A strike on Iran could be "very, very destabilizing" and have unintended consequences for the Middle East, the top U.S. military officer said on Thursday, stressing that diplomacy was crucial.
  • "I think that outcome (of a nuclear Iran) is potentially a very, very destabilizing outcome ... on the other hand, when asked about striking Iran, specifically, that also has a very, very destabilizing outcome," Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff, told a gathering at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think-tank.

International Nuclear Bank: Helping World Peace? - BBC News [link]

  • In November, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) made a deal with Russia to stockpile 120 tonnes of nuclear fuel in a plant at Angarsk near Irkutsk.
  • And in 2010, the IAEA is expected to come to a more encompassing arrangement with Kazakhstan to keep 60 tonnes of uranium at a plant in the east of the country.
  • The aim is to convince some 60 developing countries planning to use nuclear power in the near future that they do not need to go down Iran's path of enriching their own uranium.

North Korea's Reclusive Kim Jong Il May Be Planning China Trip - Los Angeles Times [link]

  • Asian news reports cite signs that reclusive North Korean strongman Kim Jong Il is preparing for a trip to Beijing.
  • Kim, who is believed to have traveled to China four times since 2000, two of them in the month of January, could be ready to announce his nation's return to the six-party nuclear disarmament talks, some analysts say.
  • North Korea's desperate economy, weakened by international sanctions after Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests last year, could force Kim back to the bargaining table in the hopes of extracting food and financial aid.

John Isaacs and Tom Schelling on a Nuke-Free World - Nukes of Hazard [link]

  • Yesterday Center Executive Director John Isaacs joined LA Times reporter Paul Richter and Nobel Prize winner Tom Schelling to discuss New START and a world free of nuclear weapons on Seattle's NPR affiliate.  
  • Note: The discussion on nuclear weapons begins at the 14:10 mark and John's comments start at the 26: 18 mark.