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Ploughshares Blog: Iran

Iran’s nuclear program poses a serious challenge to international security and regional stability. While it is unclear that the Islamic Republic has definitively decided to build nuclear weapons, the country’s evasion of its responsibilities under the international Non-Proliferation Treaty renders it suspect. Following is news, analysis and opinion from Ploughshares Fund staff, grantees and guests on the ongoing struggle to deal with nuclear weapons in Iran.
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Despite bluster, Iran is actually in a weak position, Joe tells Fox News
Joe Cirincione argues that new Iranian claims of increasing nuclear capabilities are greatly exaggerated.  Although Iran is making steady progress in its nuclear program, technical difficulties are slowing that progress.  President Ahmadinejad's recent offer to give up its enriched uranium comes with conditions that are unacceptable to the international community, says Cirincione.  Read more »
Posted by Deborah Bain on February 23, 2010
Middle East & Persian Gulf, Nuclear Weapons, Proliferation, Nuclear Materials, Iran
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Fox News Happening Now with Jon Scott and Jane Skinner
Joe talks with Fox News Happening Now's Jon Scott and Jane Skinner during the 12 o'clock hour about the latest bluster over Iran's nuclear program. Read more »
Posted by Kelly Bronk on February 23, 2010
Middle East & Persian Gulf, Nuclear Weapons, Proliferation, Iran
tomahawk
U.S. Plans to Retire Unnecessary Nuclear Weapons in Asia
A news report from Japanese press sources indicate that the U.S. has informally told Japan that it plans to retire the nuclear-armed Tomahawk cruise missile from the pacific region. The Japanese government is in agreement. Read more about the significance of this decision by Ploughshares Fund Program Director Paul Carroll by clicking here. Read more »
Posted on February 22, 2010
South Asia, Middle East & Persian Gulf, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, U.S. Nuclear Policy, Iran, United States
Hu Jintao and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Iran Nuclear Issue: The View from Beijing
While China resists tougher UN Security Council sanctions on Iran, it is likely to ultimately come on board but will seek to delay and weaken the West’s desired measures. The Iran Nuclear Issue: The View from Beijing, a new briefing from the Plougshares-funded International Crisis Group, examines China’s hesitancy to support further sanctions on Iran. Read more »
Posted on February 18, 2010
China, Nuclear Weapons, Proliferation, Iran
centrifuges
Recalculating Iran's pace of uranium enrichment
The clock marking the time it may take Iran to produce enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) to pose a credible military nuclear threat is ticking more slowly than was once assumed. That's the consensus of experts in the non-government arms control community, according to a briefing today by Ivan Oelrich and Ivanka Barzashka of the Federation of American Scientists, a Ploughshares Fund grantee. They concluded last fall that estimates of Iran's potential HEU production rate should be lowered dramatically. Read more »
Posted on February 18, 2010
Nuclear States, Nuclear Weapons, Proliferation, Nuclear Materials, Iran
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Andrea Mitchell Reports
Joe joins Karim Sadjadpour and Hooman Majd on Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss the protests in Iran and the latest developments in Iran's nuclear program. Read more »
Posted by Kelly Bronk on February 12, 2010
Nuclear Weapons, Iran
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Albright, Aslan analyze events in Iran on Newshour
The Newshour's Margaret Warner turned to Ploughshares Fund board member Reza Aslan and grantee David Albright for analysis of the week's events in Iran.  While both agreed that some of President Ahmadinejad's claims of progress on the nuclear front were "laughable," they differed on the signfic Read more »
Posted by Deborah Bain on February 12, 2010
Middle East & Persian Gulf, Nuclear States, Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Foreign Policy, Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Proliferation, Nuclear Materials, Iran
iranian courtroom
We must not ignore human rights in Iran
Hundreds of thousands of government supporters massed Thursday in central Tehran to mark the 31st anniversary of Iran's Islamic revolution, while a heavy deployment of security forces largely prevented protesters from using the occasion to stage opposition rallies. Read more »
Posted on February 11, 2010
Iran protests, Middle East & Persian Gulf, Nuclear States, U.S. Foreign Policy, Iran, sanctions
KCBS News - San Francisco
Joe talks with KCBS News in San Francisco about recent developments in Iran's nuclear program.   Read more »
Posted by Ploughshares Fund on February 10, 2010
Middle East & Persian Gulf, Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Foreign Policy, Nuclear Materials, Iran, Other
[site-name] Reza Aslan
Aslan: Iran's nuclear announcement for domestic consumption
Ploughshares Fund board member Reza Aslan writes in the Daily Beast that as Iran prepares for massive pro-reform demonstrations this week to mark the anniversary of the Islamic Republic, "Ahmadinejad is trying everything in his power to change the subject.  The president announced on Sunday that Iran will begin enriching uranium from between 3.5 percent and 5 percent to 20 percent, a move that experts believe would put the count Read more »
Posted by Deborah Bain on February 9, 2010
Middle East & Persian Gulf, Nuclear States, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Proliferation, Nuclear Materials, Iran