Defending the Diplomatic Process

July 18, 2014 | Edited by Lauren Mladenka and Geoff Wilson

Keep talking - “Sunday marks the deadline for an agreement on the future of Iran's nuclear program,” writes the Los Angeles Times editorial board. “Despite indications from the participants in the talks that progress has been made, it seems unlikely that what Secretary of State John F. Kerry called ‘real gaps’ can be closed in a few days.”

--“It will be disappointing if Sunday comes and goes without a permanent agreement in which Iran convincingly commits itself to a purely peaceful use of nuclear power in exchange for an end to economic sanctions. But a missed deadline need not be a disaster — unless members of Congress jeopardize an extension of the negotiations by pressing for additional sanctions against Iran. As we observed at the time, the interim agreement isn't a permanent solution and shouldn't be extended again and again. But an extension of the arrangement past Sunday is amply justified both by the progress that has been made in the negotiations and by Iran's adherence to the terms of the interim deal.”

--“A nuclear-armed Iran would be dangerous and destabilizing, and the U.S. was right to impose sanctions to bring it to the negotiating table. But now that talks are taking place and making progress, Congress should stand back. If it's necessary to extend the negotiations past Sunday, President Obama must be prepared to defend the process and the prerogative of the president to conduct diplomacy with other countries — with his veto pen, if necessary.” Read the full editorial here. http://lat.ms/Wmy2kK

Tweet - @LobeLog: How the Anti-Iran Lobby Machine Dominates Capitol Hill by @EliClifton & @Ali_Gharib buff.ly/1qO4lCm

U.S. businesses against sanctions - “U.S. lawmakers pushing to ramp up sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program will face opposition from trade groups, which are arguing that the Obama administration's zeal for using financial tools to punish other countries -- most recently Russia -- is hurting American companies. ‘The U.S. is fundamentally extending sanctions in increasingly unilateral ways that will undermine U.S. commercial engagement and reduce the effectiveness of the measures imposed,’ Linda Dempsey, the National Association of Manufacturers' vice president for international economic affairs, said in a statement.”

--“U.S. companies are also worried that foreign businesses will be wary of working with American firms, for fear of future penalties and restrictions. ‘American business is concerned about how these sanctions will be seen long term by the rest of the world, and that's where we do a lot of our business,’ a U.S. Chamber of Commerce executive said. The National Association of Manufacturers and the Chamber of Commerce oppose new sanctions on Iran if those sanctions are not broadly embraced by America's allies… Yet despite this opposition, some lawmakers are already gunning to punish Tehran with more sanctions. ”

--“‘[M]y hope is that the Administration will finally engage in robust discussions with Congress about preparing additional sanctions against Iran,’ Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement Tuesday. In the Senate, key leaders are also issuing demands that could make the deal harder to close. At the same time, trade groups and other opponents are urging Congress to consider what the restrictions cost American companies. A report issued Tuesday by the National Iranian American Council argues that the U.S. economy lost at least $135 billion in trade revenue because of sanctions between 1995 and 2012.” http://atfp.co/1rmOUEM

Tweet - @WinWithoutWar: Sanctions got Iran to the table, but the #IranDeal froze the nuclear program. #LetDiplomacyWork

Tweet - @NIACouncil: .@tparsi new trigger sanctions would lead to escalation, undermine Iranian confidence in Obama's ability to deliver

New positions - “Malmstrom Air Force Base will soon be adding 216 jobs to its ranks as part of an effort to address and fix recent troubles in the nuclear community of the U.S. Air Force,” KRTV reports.

--“Several ‘quality of life’ changes were recently announced at Malmstrom as a result of the Force Improvement Program, and now one of the biggest changes will come in the form of the 216 personnel positions; requests to fill the positions will begin immediately and will affect ICBM operations, missile maintenance operations, security forces, helicopter operations, and mission support.” Full story here. http://bit.ly/1te2ZCq

Shaky ground - “Years after Washington accused China of nuclear espionage, the subject of resuming laboratory-to-laboratory exchanges among scientists remains a sensitive one,” writes Rachel Oswald for Global Security Newswire. “It has been 15 years since a congressional committee accused China of advancing its nuclear weapons program in the 1980s and 1990s by stealing thermonuclear warhead designs from the United States. And 14 years have passed since the FBI's espionage case against former Los Alamos physicist Wen Ho Lee collapsed and he was released from jail.”

--“For at least one expert, that is enough time for the United States to now consider resuming nuclear laboratory exchanges with China in order to assist the latter country in improving its nuclear security practices. In an online post published last week by The National Interest, Hui Zhang, a physicist and expert on China's nuclear arms policies, argues that bilateral laboratory exchanges conducted from 1995 to 1998 should continue, beginning with ‘less sensitive activities that are identified as mutually beneficial.’... In recent years, reports have surfaced that the Energy Department was contemplating restarting the laboratory contacts as a means of building two-way understanding about each side's nuclear arms policy.” Read the full report here. http://bit.ly/1nEuSOH

Quick-hits:

--“The P5+1 and Iran Nuclear Talks Alert, July 17” in Arms Control Now. http://bit.ly/1tZGGEq

--“Iran Aims to Return to Shipping Market” by Costas Paris and Benoit Faucon in The Wall Street Journal. http://on.wsj.com/1n0Yaee

--“Senate Votes to Extend Terrorism Insurance Program” by Stephen Ohlemacher for the AP. http://abcn.ws/1yBAjGi

--“What Has America Learned from Negotiating with Iran” by Flynt Leverett, Hillary Mann Leverett and Seyed Mohammad Marandi for The National Interest. http://bit.ly/1wEcivB

Events:

--“Progressive National Security in the 2014 Elections and Beyond.” Netroots Nation discussion with Ploughshares Fund President Joe Cirincione, Mike Darner, and Megan Minnion; moderated by Emily Cadei. July 19 from 1:30 to 2:45 at COBO Center, Room 140 D, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit, MI. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1jtO5rr

--“Iran’s Nuclear Chess: Calculating America’s Moves.” Discussion with Robert Litwak, Mitchell Reiss, and David Sanger. July 21 from 12:00 to 1:15 at the Wilson Center, 5th floor, Reagan building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1oVD4hv

--“The Future of WMD in 2030.” Off the record discussion with John Caves and Seth Carus. July 24 12:00 to 1:30 at the National Defense University, Lincoln Hall, Room 1119, Fort McNair, Washington. RSVP by email to Nima Gerami at nima.gerami@ndu.edu.

--“Nuclear Politics on the Korean Peninsula.” Discussion with seven speakers. July 28 from 3:00 to 5:15 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW. RSVP here. http://ceip.org/1sTSpjA

Dessert:

10 Things - The Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation breaks down the story of how the United States entered into the most recent round of negotiations with Iran, and what’s going on with those negotiations right now, via BuzzFeed.

--Special props to item #10: “Above all else, we continue to believe that diplomacy will triumph over weapons of mass destruction, and a final comprehensive agreement can and will be reached. That’s why we’re feeling pretty good about the possibility of another six months to come up with a deal.” Full lineup of the 10 things you need to know about the Iran negotiations here. http://bzfd.it/1mXSNMT