Faced with a Common Enemy, U.S. and Iran Find Grounds for Cooperation

On the radar: Mutual objectives, not interests; Tehran responds to IAEA; the Russia-Iran dynamic; and Revisiting the basics of missile defense.

September 10, 2014 | Edited by Will Saetren and Jacob Marx

The enemy of my enemy - “Despite their repeated insistence that they are not cooperating in Iraq, U.S. and Iranian officials again discussed the militant group Islamic State during a high-level meeting last week,” reports Paul Richter for The Los Angeles Times. “Cooperation is a highly sensitive subject because most of the important players in the region -- the Iraqis, the Sunni Arab states and Israel -- fear a U.S.-Iranian collaboration that would work to their disadvantage.”

--“U.S. officials won't discuss publicly what they have said to the Iranians about Islamic State. But analysts and diplomats say they believe U.S. officials are laying out their general plans and goals in Iraq, in part to avoid any unintended but dangerous clash between the longtime adversary governments.” Read the full story here. http://lat.ms/1tK12RA

No deadlock - “Iran said on Tuesday it would still address concerns about its nuclear program, even though it missed a deadline last month for providing information about its suspected atomic bomb research,” reports Fredrik Dahl for Reuters. “Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency suggested his country had not fully implemented five nuclear transparency measures by Aug. 25, as agreed with the IAEA, in part because of the ‘complexity’ of the issues involved.”

--"There is no deadlock. We are sure we can implement that...We are ready to complete that," said Najafi. “Western officials say Iran must address the IAEA's concerns and that, although there is no chance of the probe being completed before the scheduled end of the six-power talks, some of the sanctions relief Iran is seeking would probably depend on its cooperation with the IAEA.”

--That being said, “the IAEA report did say other transparency steps implemented by Iran - including access to some sites - had helped inspectors gain a ‘better understanding’ of Iran's nuclear program.” Iran and the IAEA will likely discuss PMD issues again by the end of September. Read the full story here. http://reut.rs/WIvaOu

Sanction safeguards- Iran has been steadily increasing its energy cooperation with Russia as a bulwark against future sanctions, reports Rick Gladstone for The New York Times. According to Cliff Kupchan, “What Russia did was give Iranian hard-liners an argument to Khamenei, that in a no-deal scenario, Iran has an economic lifeline from Russia.” Read the full story. http://nyti.ms/YvC8bi

Clarification - “Tehran said Tuesday it would enhance energy cooperation with Russia but there would be no imminent oil-for-goods deal of the kind that has raised concerns in Washington,” reports the AFP. “‘Iran and Russia have agreed to cooperate in the energy field,’” Ali Majedi, Iran's deputy oil minister, told the ISNA news agency. ‘We will develop cooperation in oil, gas, petrochemicals and refineries,’ he said, but added: ‘The issue of an exchange of goods for oil is absolutely not on the agenda.” http://bit.ly/WNSmeo

Book - “Nuclear Security: The Problems and the Road Ahead,” a new book on nuclear security by former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, Sidney D. Drell, former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and former Senator Sam Nunn is now available on Amazon. http://amzn.to/ZgPbh4

Tweet - @Cirincione: Good news: CR keeps nonproliferation programs at current levels; Obama budget had slashed them & given $$ to nuke weapons programs.

Little accountability in EKV project - A new report regarding the Pentagon’s ground based missile defense program finds, “failures of basic industrial quality control [that] are not isolated issues in an otherwise well-functioning research and development program,” reports Laura Grego in All Things Nuclear. “The missile defense system is plagued with oversight and accountability issues, and operates under a ‘rush to failure’ paradigm.”

--According to the report, “The current EKV [kill vehicle] design is the prototype design of 1998 with upgrades for design and manufacturing defects, and obsolescence issues. The immediate need for an initial capability drove an accelerated development process and fielded capability before EKV performance was fully characterized prior to initial fielding. Requirements were viewed as ‘goals’ with little focus on reliability, producibility, and maintainability requirements, which are integral to strategic systems with a life expectancy similar to GMD.”

--“The Missile Defense Agency seems to be trying to take responsibility for turning this around, but that is unlikely to be enough unless we… who pay for missile defense and who are meant to be the beneficiaries of it demand accountability. We as citizens—and Congress— should be asking harder questions: What’s the rush and who is benefitting from it? Is this the best way to spend $40 billion? Is this the best way to manage nuclear threats?” Read the full piece here. http://bit.ly/1ulgaDx

Quick Hits:

--“Russia Test Of Troubled Missile 'A Success'” reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. http://bit.ly/1CRwxM6

--“Putin: New Weapons to Counter Threats to Russia'” reports the Associated Press. http://abcn.ws/1xIQftf

--“Russian Officials in Iran to Boost Economic Ties” reports the Associated Press. http://abcn.ws/1AyuQzb

Events:

--“Debate: U.S. No First Use,” Walt Slocombe and Jack Mendelsohn engage in a Project on Nuclear Issues debate. Sept. 10 from 6:00-8:00pm at CSIS. Details here. http://bit.ly/1kYCdhB

--“Ending Nuclear Explosive Testing: A Discussion with Ambassador Thomas Graham” Sept. 12 from 12:00-2:00pm at George Washington University. Details here. http://bit.ly/1oYlo1y

--“Squaring the Iranian Nuclear Circle: Defining Uranium Enrichment Capacity and Other Key Issues” Discussion featuring Kelsey Davenport, James Walsh and Daryl Kimball. Sept. 15 from 9:30-11:00am at the Carnegie Endowment. Details here. http://bit.ly/1uG7HJo

--“Nuclear Weapons Testing: History, Progress, Challenges” a Special Event to Mark International Day Against Nuclear Tests, with presentations from: Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Under Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller, NNSA Administrator Frank G. Klotz and Dr. Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. Sept. 15 from 12:30-5:00pm at the U.S. Institute of Peace. http://bit.ly/1lynIS4

--International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meeting. Sept. 15-19 in Vienna.

--Center for Strategic and International Studies Project on Nuclear Issues presents Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, Department of State's Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs. Sept. 16 from 12:00-1:30pm at CSIS. Details here. http://bit.ly/W6m7Xj

--“Iranian Attitudes on Nuclear Negotiations with the P5+1" featuring Ebrahim Mohseni and Steven Kull. Sept. 17 from 10:00-11:30am at the Carnegie Endowment. Details here. http://bit.ly/1tqCz3r

--“The Contribution of the National Laboratory System to U.S. National Security” discussion with Paul Hommert, Charles McMillan and Adam Schwartz. Sept. 17th from 5:30-7:00pm at George Washington University. Details here. http://bit.ly/1q6Y9IP

--Scottish Independence Referendum, Sept. 18. http://bit.ly/1s2pX0q

--Eric Schlosser discusses his book, Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, at the World Affairs Council of Northern California. Sept. 29 in San Francisco. Details here. http://bit.ly/1qrePcW