Obama on Iran Deal: “It’s My Name on This.”

Obama defends Iran deal - “It’s my name on this...I think it’s fair to say that in addition to our profound national security interests, I have a personal interest in locking this down,” said President Obama about the Iran deal in an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic.

--About that nuclear dominoes argument: “There has been no indication from the Saudis or any other [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries that they have an intention to pursue their own nuclear program. Part of the reason why they would not pursue their own nuclear program...is that the protection that we provide as their partner is a far greater deterrent than they could ever hope to achieve by developing their own nuclear stockpile or trying to achieve breakout capacity when it comes to nuclear weapons, and they understand that.”

--Read the transcript for a fuller discussion of the deal, regional implications, sanctions and U.S. relations with Israel. http://theatln.tc/1KmM4J5

Nuclear smuggling - Detecting the smuggling of radioactive material and deterring radiological or nuclear terrorism is a national security priority. “Yet the House Armed Services Committee is pushing a bill that would prohibit funding for fixed radiation detectors to catch nuclear smugglers – both for installing new ones and even for maintaining the ones U.S. taxpayers have already paid billions to install,” write Matthew Bunn, William Tobey and Nicholas Roth argue in The Hill.

--“The proposed end of funding for fixed radiation detectors would send precisely the wrong message as the United States prepares to host a global nuclear security summit in 2016. The United States should be pressing countries to keep their foot on the gas in reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism, not letting up on the effort itself,” they write. http://bit.ly/1ILt72j

Cardin on congressional review - Congressional review of a final Iranian nuclear deal will focus on the amount of time it would take Iran to build one nuclear weapon under a final deal, and whether that would be enough time for the international community time to respond, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), told reporters yesterday. The Christian Science Monitor’s Francine Kiefer has the full story. http://bit.ly/1IN1o1l

Report - “Issue Brief: The Future of Economic Sanctions in a Global Economy” by Richard Nephew for the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy. Mya 2015. (pdf) http://bit.ly/1dmLdLf

Fact check - Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), recently argued that a good agreement with Iran should resemble South African President Nelson Mandela’s decision to give up nuclear weapons and allow inspections. There’s just one problem: Mandela never did that.

--South Africa did have a nuclear weapons program under its apartheid regime during the 1970s and 80s, and did build a handful of weapons, but they were dismantled in 1989 under President F.W. de Klerk, while Mandela was still imprisoned. Sen. Kirk’s tagline of “Good Enough for Mandela, Good Enough for Iran,” doesn’t fit with the facts. Full story from writes Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler. http://wapo.st/1EZSpCK

Khamenei positioning - Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated that Iran’s nuclear scientists and some of its military sites were off-limits to international inspectors. “Regarding inspections, we have said that we will not let foreigners inspect any military center,” Khamenei said in an Iranian state TV interview. Reuters reports. http://reut.rs/1EXeFNn

Tweet - @TheNatlInterest: Newsflash: Iran's Revolutionary Guards Support the Nuclear Deal. http://t.co/MUU4uE9sk6

Ukraine’s BMD desires - Ukraine’s military is “rebuilding our ­missile shield, the main task of which is to defend against aggression from Russia,” said Oleksander Turchynov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.

--There’s uncertainty about what exactly Turchynov is talking about. “There’s no offer or plan to place U.S. or NATO ballistic missile defense systems in Ukraine. I don’t think we’re exactly sure what they’re referring to,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. “All existing and planned elements are on NATO territory, for example. And certainly, NATO missile defense is not directed against Russia, but against threats from the Middle East.” Karoun Demirjian reports for The Washington Post. http://wapo.st/1Fqk6YJ

Tweet - @RCW: No agreement reached yesterday by key states. Today President released her own draft text; weaker than 2010. #NPT2015 http://bit.ly/1KmcXwH

Quick Hits:

--“French minister: Iran seeks 24-day period in nuclear talks,” by The Associated Press. http://wapo.st/1IRblt1

--“State Department doubts North Korea's mini-nuke claim,” by Ashley Rowland for Stars and Stripes. http://1.usa.gov/1HvYOcE

--“US presses Israel on talks for Middle East nuclear-free zone,” by Cara Anna for The Associated Press. http://apne.ws/1PyLxrd

Events:

--P5+1 and Iran continue negotiations on an agreement on Iran's nuclear program. May 20, Vienna.

--”Europe and the Iran Nuclear Deal,” with French Ambassador Gerard Aud, British Ambassador Peter Westmacott, and German Ambassador Peter Wittig at the Atlantic Council. May 26th at 10:00am. http://bit.ly/1Hq0wPI

--"Sea Based Strategic Deterrence--Maintaining a Credible Force at a Responsible Cost," remarks by Rear Adm Joseph Tofalo, Director, Undersea Warfare Division, at the Huessy Congressional Breakfast Seminar Series. May 29 from 8:00-9:00am at the Capitol Hill Club. http://conta.cc/1FfEoXT

Dessert:

Nuclear test - “Earlier this year Sandia National Laboratories fired a nuclear warhead out of a cannon in New Mexico. The reason you didn't hear an earth-shattering kaboom is because it was [a mockup B61-12 nuclear bomb] that was fired into a tank of water as part of a federal program to improve the longevity and effectiveness of the US nuclear stockpile.” Full story and photos from gizmag: http://bit.ly/1ei836X