Iran Talks: Congress Grows Impatient, PM Netanyahu Remains Unmoved

On the radar: Disquiet on Iran deal; Netanyahu Speech; Rouhani wants a “win-win”; Iran’s regional ambition; WIPP faces new fines; Taking out radioactive trash; and Nuclear rocket launchers.

February 11, 2015 | Edited by Jacob Marx and Will Saetren

Growing doubts - A closed White House briefing on Iran did not seem to reassure the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Instead of preventing proliferation, we are managing proliferation,” Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) said. “If we enter a new world order where we are going to manage proliferation, where a country could be a year away from the possibility of breaking out capabilities for nuclear weapons, that is a different and far more challenging world.” http://bit.ly/1EYcka5

--Several Senators echoed the president’s recent remarks that extending the talks may be difficult. “I trust [the president’s] instincts and the negotiators’ instincts when it comes to Iran negotiations. They’ve been in a room with the Iranians. And I trust them to know when’s the right time to walk away from the table. But these negotiations can’t be endless,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT). Politico reports. http://politi.co/16Nmifw

March 3rd - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday that he still plans to address Congress on Iran’s nuclear program early next month. The statement comes amid growing opposition from experts and policymakers, many of whom see the speech as interference in the domestic debate on an issue of vital importance to U.S. security.

--“I intend to speak in the U.S. Congress because Congress might have an important role on a nuclear deal with Iran," PM Netanyahu said, adding that the offer made by world powers in the negotiations "would enable Iran to threaten Israel's survival." Reuters reports. http://reut.rs/1CgO92Y

--See also: “Two Senators [Leahy and Schatz] Announce Plans to Skip Netanyahu Speech,” Michael Crittendon for The Wall Street Journal. http://on.wsj.com/1zW7YvD

Win-win - “President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday the goal of Iran's negotiations with world powers on its nuclear program was a ‘win-win’ outcome, a further signal that Tehran could accept a compromise to defuse a stand-off that has raised fears of war.” Full story from Reuters. http://reut.rs/1z7EwjV

--Additional Coverage: “Iran Signals More Openness Toward Nuclear Deal,” NPR’s Steve Inskeep reports from Tehran. http://n.pr/1CUXFvs

Tweet - @SchwartzCNS: “Amber Waves of Grain” by Barbara Donachy, Boston, Feb. 13, 1986: Entire US nuclear arsenal in ceramic miniatures. http://bit.ly/1zWbSEK

Reality check - “Iran will be a regional power in the Middle East for years to come. This does not mean that the United States should give up in the face of Iranian ambitions,” writes Alireza Nader of the RAND Institute in The National Interest.

--“Nuclear negotiations should not be held hostage to all of the things Iran may be doing right or wrong…. A diplomatic resolution of the nuclear issue can allow Washington more room to deal with Iran’s regional influence, either through further diplomatic engagement, economic pressure or enticement, military deterrence, or a combination of all of the above.” http://bit.ly/1vjQtRK

WIPP fines - “New Mexico's top environmental officials and the U.S. Energy Department are wrangling over more than $54 million in fines levied in the wake of a radiological leak at the federal government's underground nuclear waste repository.” Full story via the Associated Press. http://nyti.ms/1CUYnsQ

Taking out the trash - The toxic legacy of the Cold War remains buried beneath about two dozen American communities where nuclear weapons were once produced. One site lies in the Kiski Valley, east of Pittsburgh, where Patty Ameno has spent the last 27 years on a mission to have the waste removed. Full story by Ranjani Chakraborty for Al Jazeera America. http://alj.am/1vEwHpW

Tweet - @BulletinAtomic: .@davyfreeman terrific podcast interview w/Kennette Benedict abt the continuing reality of a #nuclearwar threat http://bit.ly/1ChgWSC

Quick Hits:

--“DPRK Missile, Rocket Launches,” by Jeffrey Lewis for Arms Control Wonk. http://bit.ly/1DEYNTe

--“FBI Video: DoE scientist attempts to sell nuclear secrets,” by Aaron Boyd for Federal Times. http://bit.ly/1zW2QYn

--“N. Korea's Kim may not visit China if no progress in denuclearization.” Report from the Yonhap News Agency. http://bit.ly/16Tm9HI

--“Improve the nuclear test monitoring system,” by Michael Schoeppner and Ulrich Kühn in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. http://bit.ly/1KMfrQP

Events:

--“Nuclear Bargains Reviewed: Washington's Cold War Nuclear Deals and What They Mean for Iran. Featuring Or Rabinowitz, King's College London. February 13 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. Located at the Wilson Center, Fifth Floor, Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington DC. RSVP online. http://bit.ly/1v1CLmy

--"Nuclear Enterprise Update: An NNSA Perspective," featuring Frank Klotz, Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). February 17, 8:00-9:00 a.m., Air Force Association Boardroom, 1501 Lee Highway, Fourth Floor, Arlington, VA. RSVP online. http://conta.cc/1CdtuKS.

--Annual “Nuclear Deterrence Summit.” February 17-20 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St. NW, Washington. Register online. http://bit.ly/1zG0IUF

--"Nixon Legacy Forum: Detente & Arms Control with the USSR," featuring Phil Odeen, Jan Lodal, David Aaron and Winston Lord, former members of Nixon's National Security Council staff. February 23, 10:00 a.m., National Archives Museum McGowan Theater, Constitution Ave. between 7th and 9th Sts. NW, Washington. RSVP online. Webcast on YouTube. http://bit.ly/1M9CBUJ

Dessert:

Nuclear rocket launcher - “Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the American military had a dream. That dream was to create a nuclear rocket launcher, and with it, the world's smallest nuclear rocket.” Behold, the M-28/29 “Davy Crockett,” which “came about from the desire to be able to use a nuclear weapon on a tactical, battlefield level, as opposed to only using strategic, city-destroying nukes.” Story by Michael Ballaban for Foxtrot Alpha, complete with archival footage. http://bit.ly/16RY5od