Iran Prepared to Modify Arak Reactor

February 6, 2014 | Edited by Lauren Mladenka and Geoff Wilson

Changes in store - “Iran is prepared to modify its planned Arak heavy water reactor to help allay Western concerns,” Reuters reports. “Western powers, preparing for negotiations with Iran on a long-term deal defining the scope of its disputed nuclear program, fear Arak could provide a supply of plutonium - one of two materials, along with highly enriched uranium, that can be used for the core of a nuclear weapon - once operational.”

--The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization responded to concerns by stating, "We can do some design change, in other words make some change in the design, in order to produce less plutonium in this reactor, and in this way allay the worries and mitigate the concerns.” Western experts have suggested that, “a possible way forward might be to reconfigure the heavy water reactor into a light water reactor, which experts say would be much less amenable to any attempt at nuclear proliferation.” Read the full story here. http://reut.rs/1eXI4dF

Partisan tactics - “The Republican Senate caucus is planning to use every parliamentary trick in the book to push Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow a floor vote on a new Iran sanctions bill that the Obama administration strenuously opposes,” writes Josh Rogin in The Daily Beast. The GOP plans to use “an array of floor tactics—including bringing up the bill and forcing Reid to publicly oppose it—as a means of putting public pressure on Reid and Democrats who may be on the fence” and “attaching the bill as an amendment to future bills under consideration.” However, “during his State of the Union address last month, President Obama pledged to veto the bill if it reached his desk.” Full story here. http://thebea.st/1eXQ2n0

Cheater, cheater - “It turns out the Air Force isn't the only service with a cheating scandal in the ranks of its nuclear force,” writes Gordon Lubold for Foreign Policy. “With the Air Force grappling with growing evidence of systemic wrongdoing among its nuclear personnel, the Navy announced Tuesday that, it, too has uncovered a similar problem at a nuclear propulsion base in Charleston, S.C.”

--“Senior Navy officials said they'd already fingered 30 sailors but acknowledged that the total numbers could grow. And if the Air Force scandal is any indication, they will: Air Force commanders first said 34 officers were implicated, only to later raise that estimate to 92. They now say the true figure is likely to be even higher. Tuesday's announcement means the hot seat the Air Force has been occupying for the last several weeks must now be shared with the Navy, the only other service that operates nuclear systems.” Full story here. http://atfp.co/1iwqNvX

--“Hagel Orders Urgent Push for Ethics Crackdown” by Lolita C. Baldor and Robert Burns of the AP. http://abcn.ws/1g5Fkgt

Tweet - @WinWithoutWar: Veterans and Human Rights Activists Travel to DC to Stand for Diplomacy with Iran: http://bit.ly/1iweLCA

Petty posturing - “North Korea on Thursday threatened to cancel reunions of families separated by the Korean War, accusing the United States of flying nuclear-capable B-52 bombers on a training mission over the Korean Peninsula,” reports Choe Sang-Hun for The New York Times. “North and South Korea agreed on Wednesday to hold the family reunions from Feb. 20 to Feb. 25, when hundreds of elderly Koreans would be allowed to meet their relatives for the first time since the war ended in 1953.”

--“The deal was widely seen as a sign that relations between the two countries may be warming after threats of war followed the North’s nuclear test early last year. If held, the reunions would be the first since 2010, when the humanitarian program was halted amid souring relations. But on Thursday, North Korea warned that it could scrap the agreement unless South Korea canceled joint annual military exercises that it planned to start with the United States the last week of this month.” Read the full story here. http://nyti.ms/1gPUivS

Quick hits:

--”U.S. Conducts ‘Successful’ Analysis of Updates B-61 Bomb” by Diane Barnes in Global Security Newswire. http://bit.ly/1lCK4Rx

--“U.N. Disarmament Body Remains at Odds on 2014 Work Plan” by Rachel Oswald for Global Security Newswire. http://bit.ly/MuYyTs

--“No More Mr. Nice Guy: The sad end of Ambassador Michael McFaul’s troubled tenure in Moscow” by Michael Weiss for Foreign Policy. http://atfp.co/1nWNqgR

Events:

--“At the Table: Perspectives on Iran Negotiations from Two Former U.S. Negotiators.” Discussion with Nicholas Burns and Robert Einhorn. Sponsored by the Partnership for a Secure America. Feb. 7 from 11:00-noon at 2118 Rayburn HOB. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1dah61g

--”U.S.-Russian Relations in the 21st Century.” Discussion with Angela Stent, Fiona Hill, and Peter Baker. Feb. 18 from 2:00-3:30 at Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1bqFDTe