News: By Source
U.S. diplomats have approached European officials to see if they would join in demanding an extension to limits on Iran’s uranium enrichment that are set to expire in 2025 and 2030 under the nuclear accord reached in 2015, according to people familiar with the discussions.
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Iran has received nearly two snap nuclear inspections a month and almost double the overall number of visits it had just five years ago, indicating the value of the deal the U.S. and its allies reached in 2015 to rein in the country’s nuclear program.
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The Iranian economy has had an “impressive recovery” following sanctions relief last year, though uncertainty regarding the fate of the nuclear deal and relations with the U.S. threaten to undermine it, the International Monetary Fund said.
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Iran has gradually improved its offensive cyber abilities and developed more advanced ballistic missiles since signing an accord last year to curb its nuclear program, the U.S. Defense Department said. The Islamic Republic now has a “substantial inventory of missiles capable of reaching targets throughout the region, including U.S. military bases and Israel,” according to an unclassified summary from a Pentagon assessment of Iran’s military prowess.
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A top Treasury Department official argued against imposing new legislative sanctions on Iran after its ballistic missile tests last month, even as he said the Islamic Republic would remain blocked from the U.S. financial system.
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Opponents of the Iran deal aren’t expecting the Congressional vote next month to go their way, but they are already planning for the day after their loss. Republicans in Congress are preparing several bills to sanction Iran. Even if those never reach a vote, the proposals could be problematic for Democrats well into 2016.
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s refusal to publicly back July’s nuclear deal is encouraging conservative lawmakers who oppose the pact.
[ More ]The author argues that the burgeoning arms race in the Middle East was not caused by the pending nuclear deal with Iran but reflects dynamics started as far back as the 2nd Iraq war and could be an indication that the Gulf States have finally decided "to take on responsibility for their own security and a real leadership role in the neighborhood."
[ More ]Israel and the Gulf Arab nations, once in agreement in opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran, have now diverged after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry persuaded the six Persian Gulf monarchies to give cautious support to the accord, which Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah called the “the best option amongst other options” to thwart any Iranian quest for nuclear weapons.
[ More ]The U.S. Air Force is seeking help from private industry to improve techniques for locating and analyzing “hard and deeply buried” targets, a description that fits some of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
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