Morning Joe: Iranian Cooperation, IAEA Decisions, & Looming Sanctions

Stories we're following today:

Hints of Iranian Flexibility on Nuclear Issue - New York Times [link]

• According to diplomats and scientists, is recent indications that Iran may be prepared to be more cooperative with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.
• While much attention has been focused on Mr. Ahmadinejad’s decision to try to pack his cabinet with loyalists, his choice of a well-respected physicist, Ali Akbar Salehi, as a vice president and the head of Iran’s nuclear agency has been greeted in the diplomatic and scientific community as signaling a possibly less dogmatic, more pragmatic nuclear policy.

 Outgoing IAEA Chief has Tough Choice on Iran - Associated Press [link]

• As [the end of his term] approaches IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is faced with the tough choice of sharing all his agency findings about Iran's alleged arms programs, or leaving the decision to his successor later this year.
• The existence of a secret IAEA summary of Iran's alleged weapons experiments based on agency investigations and U.S. and other intelligence was confirmed to The Associated Press over the past few days by three senior western diplomats from nations accredited to the IAEA, as well as a senior international official who follows the Iran nuclear issue.

 Built to spill - Will Ward in The National [link]

• At present, the US Congress seems determined to lay down a tough line – hoping to maintain a credible threat of “crippling sanctions” if Iran refuses to cooperate.
• Yet precious little thought seems to have been given to the feasibility of implementing the sanctions or to the costs that such a programme would impose on America’s allies in the Gulf. In the worst case, the petrol sanctions – framed as an attempt to avoid war with Iran – might have precisely the opposite effect.

Yes to a Nuclear Summit - Avner Cohen in Haaretz [link]

• Israel's invitation to [Obama's global nuclear security summit] can also be considered the first attempt on the path toward rationally and correctly dealing with Israel's nuclear status. After all, Israel has no part in the existing nuclear international system: It is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, nor is it a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
• Therefore, an invitation to the summit will grant it a deserved place in the right sort of forum, without having to pay any price for membership. This type of summit is an admission that the existing nuclear system and its various institutions are lacking, and that it should be remade.
  

Lugar Can Cement his Legacy by Backing Treaty - Doloris Cogan letter to The Elkhart Truth [link]

• Now Senator Lugar's support is essential on one more crucial security step: America must ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This treaty permanently banning nuclear test explosions worldwide would help thwart the ability of other nuclear-armed countries to perfect new and more deadly nuclear bombs, and would help prevent new nuclear weapons programs.

A View from the Lighter Side