Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, shown earlier this year, has urged the Bush administration to seek direct contact with Tehran to help resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis (Toru Yamanaka/Getty Images). Iran Nuclear Effort Reportedly Slows The pace of Iran’s effort to produce nuclear fuel appears to have slowed in recent weeks, the New York Times reported yesterday (see GSN, May 26). European officials have described the findings by international inspectors to White House and State Department officials in an effort to push Washington toward bilateral talks with Tehran. Tehran might be trying to reduce tensions in the nuclear standoff, diplomats say. “The pace is more diplomatic than technical,” said a senior European diplomat who monitors the Iranian program. “They could probably have gone faster. But they don’t want to provoke.” Bush administration hard-liners, however, expressed skepticism over the reported slowdown...Full Story

Russia Sets 2013 Deadline for Uranium Repatriation Russia yesterday announced a 2013 deadline for repatriating all highly enriched uranium from 20 research reactors constructed by the former Soviet Union in 17 of its satellite states, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Feb. 24)...Full Story

Y-12 Plant Speeds up Warhead Dismantlement The rate of nuclear warhead dismantlement has increased this year at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported yesterday (see GSN, March 30)...Full Story

	Tuesday, May 30, 2006

China, South Korea Skip Drill China and South Korea withdrew from a multinational maritime antismuggling drill shortly before its start, reportedly out of concern it could be seen as targeting North Korea, Kyodo News reported today (see GSN, May 24). Canada, Japan, Russia and the United States are taking part in the five-day exercise, which began Saturday. The Japanese coast guard today inspected the U.S. Coast Guard ship Sequoia, which played the part of a vessel suspected of smuggling materials off the coast of Shimane Prefecture. The drill went “smoothly,” said Satoshi Nakashima of the Japanese coast guard’s eighth regional headquarters. The initial drill scenario called for detaining a ship from a nation suspected of WMD proliferation. That was subsequently changed to a more straightforward smuggling situation, Kyodo reported (Kyodo News/Yahoo!News, May 30). Back to top       Hayden Confirmed as CIA Director The U.S. Senate voted 78 to 15 to confirm Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden as the new director of the CIA, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 19). “General Hayden is a patriot and a dedicated public servant whose broad experience, dedication and expertise make him the right person to lead the CIA at this critical time,” President George W. Bush said in a statement. Hayden is the best possible CIA chief “as we continue to address the challenges and threats we face in the 21st century,” Bush said. Hayden said during Senate confirmation hearings that the lessons from intelligence errors on prewar Iraq’s alleged WMD programs would not be ignored (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 26). Back to top

Iran Nuclear Effort Reportedly Slows The pace of Iran’s effort to produce nuclear fuel appears to have slowed in recent weeks, the New York Times reported yesterday (see GSN, May 26). European officials have described the findings by international inspectors to White House and State Department officials in an effort to push Washington toward bilateral talks with Tehran. Tehran might be trying to reduce tensions in the nuclear standoff, diplomats say. “The pace is more diplomatic than technical,” said a senior European diplomat who monitors the Iranian program. “They could probably have gone faster. But they don’t want to provoke.” Bush administration hard-liners, however, expressed skepticism over the reported slowdown. “It could simply mean we’re not looking in the right places,” said one senior official. Nuclear experts said the slowdown could mean Iran faces technical difficulties. Diplomats said Iranian engineers stopped putting uranium hexafluoride into centrifuge arrays after 12 days. Iran has announced that its next goal is to install nearly 1,000 new centrifuges by the end of the year. Experts have said Iran has not made substantial progress in that effort, and International Atomic Energy Agency findings combined with Tehran’s statements have raised questions about its claims of nuclear breakthroughs, according to the Times. Inspectors found that Iran used material from China in its first enrichment effort because its domestic uranium supplies are reportedly full of impurities. Tehran also appears to operating inefficient centrifuges. While Iran’s cascade worked, “It didn’t operate well,” said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security. However, one European nuclear expert said such low efficiencies are not uncommon for initial centrifuge efforts, and that the results would likely be improved over time Meanwhile, Russian National Security Council chief Igor Ivanov held a three-hour meeting with Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani. Officials in Tehran said they discussed the possibility of conducting uranium enrichment for Iran in Russia, and that Ivanov promoted a European incentives package aimed at ending Iran’s sensitive nuclear work. (Broad/Sanger, New York Times, May 29). The Bush administration is pushing for significant financial sanctions on Iran from Europe and Japan, the Washington Post reported yesterday. A Treasury Department task force developed the plan, which is designed to freeze the assets of every Iranian official, individual and entity the Bush administration considers connected to nuclear efforts, terrorism, government corruption, suppression of religious or democratic freedom and violence in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories, according to the Post. Internal U.S. assessments, however, indicate that the sanctions would not affect Tehran without also creating economic difficulty for Japan and Europe. “I have been very open with people about the costs that could fall on them,” said Stuart Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. U.S. sanctions on Iran, which have been in place for decades, have not had much effect on Tehran. However, multilateral penalties would “isolate the Iranian regime” and see it “shunned by the international financial community,” according to one internal Bush administration memo. The plan calls for the allies to freeze Iranian government accounts and assets in their respective countries, and Iranian officials who appear on U.S. blacklists would be barred from opening accounts, trading on foreign markets or obtaining credit, the Post reported. U.S. officials said they hope the plan would be implemented if Iran refuses a package of incentives to be offered by Europe in coming weeks. U.S. allies have not yet embraced the strategy, according to the Post. European officials said their reliance on Iranian oil, domestic legal constraints and the fear a new conflict in the Middle East made them reluctant to sign on. “The sanctions could make Iran miserable, and Iran can respond by making everyone miserable back,” said one senior Western official. “In the end, the whole world is miserable and Iran gets to keep its nuclear program” (Dafna Linzer, Washington Post, May 29). Foreign ministers from the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana are scheduled to meet Thursday on the issue, Agence France-Presse reported. Political directors from the six foreign ministries are also expected to discuss the pending European incentives package in a telephone conference today, diplomats in Vienna told AFP. A Western diplomat said France, Germany and the United Kingdom “are working hard now to revise their package to respond to concerns, mostly from (Iranian allies and trading partners) Russia and China.” The diplomat said disagreements about the timing of a Security Council resolution and possible sanctions remained. “There are still significant areas of disagreement” such as “the detail and commitment in the package to a specific menu of sanctions,” the diplomat said. Possible sanctions include an arms embargo, according to a draft text seen by AFP (Agence France-Presse I/IranMania.com, May 29). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday that world powers are prepared to fully support Iran’s right to develop nuclear energy, AFP reported. “We are prepared to guarantee Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy on the condition it answers the questions the IAEA has raised,” he said, according to Russian news agencies. “We are ready and mutually interested in drawing Iran into full economic cooperation as well as in cooperation in regional security,” he said (Christopher Boian, Agence France-Presse II/Yahoo!News, May 29). The Russian Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that Lavrov discussed the standoff with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Associated Press reported (Associated Press I/MosNews.com, May 28). Meanwhile in Washington, there is growing debate within the Bush administration on conducting direct talks with Iran, the Times reported. European officials said Rice and top aides are discussing the matter, but others indicated that she remains resistant to direct talks, fearing that such a move would show weakness and disrupt negotiations with Europe. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld oppose even informal bilateral talks, administration officials said. Several former U.S. officials, however, have begun pushing for direct talks. “Diplomacy is much more than just talking to your friends,” former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told the Times. “You’ve got to talk to people who aren’t our friends, and even people you dislike. Some people in the administration think that diplomacy is a sign of weakness. In fact, it can show that you’re strong.” Solana and Germany Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier have called on Rice to consider direct contacts, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue with Bush in Washington earlier this year, according to the Times. “It’s a European aspiration for talks to happen,” said one European official. “Nothing is likely at the moment” (Steven Weisman, New York Times, May 27). Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Javad Zarif said Friday that Tehran could accept a limit to its uranium enrichment capability, AFP reported. “This cap I think should be below 10 [percent uranium 235 in the fuel], meaning reactor grade,” he said. “Iran is prepared to put in place other measures to ensure fuel produced is not re-enriched and used for nuclear (weapons) purposes” (Agence France-Presse III/IranMania.com, May 26). Iran also indicated today that it would consider Europe’s pending incentives package, AFP reported. “We have to wait and see what kind of proposal will be made. We haven’t seen it yet.  They have to submit it so it will be studied and we will see how it can be followed up,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi. Asefi added, however, that Tehran had no plans to freeze its fuel cycle work. “Halting or stopping enrichment is not on the agenda,” he said (Farhad Pouladi, Agence France-Presse IV/Yahoo!News, May 30). Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said today that the overextended U.S. military could not attack his country, AFP reported. “They can’t. The U.S. is not in a position to impose another crisis on taxpayers. There are a lot of difficulties in Iraq and Palestine. They are not in a position to create a new crisis in the region,” he said (Agence France-Presse V/Yahoo!News, May 30). Foreign ministers from the Nonaligned Movement nations today were to express support for Iran’s nuclear program, AP reported. The ministers “reaffirmed the basic and inalienable right” of all countries to develop, produce and use atomic energy “for peaceful purposes, without any discrimination and in conformity with their respective legal obligations,” according to a copy of one declaration obtained by AP. The bloc also demanded that Israel accede to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, according to the draft (Vijay Joshi, Associated Press II, May 30). Back to top       Russia Sets 2013 Deadline for Uranium Repatriation Russia yesterday announced a 2013 deadline for repatriating all highly enriched uranium from 20 research reactors constructed by the former Soviet Union in 17 of its satellite states, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Feb. 24). The 17 countries have pledged to participate in the project, funded by the U.S.-sponsored Global Threat Reduction Initiative. Russia removed 63 kilograms of uranium from Uzbekistan in April, according to Valeri Govorukhin, deputy director general of Technsabexport (see GSN, April 20). “The operation was paid for by the United States and cost around $7 million, a third of which went on environmental protection,” he said. Russia next plans to remove fissile material from reactors in the Czech Republic and Latvia, AFP reported (see GSN, May 26, 2005). More than 100 research reactors around the world are fueled with highly enriched uranium, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, May 29). Back to top       Y-12 Plant Speeds up Warhead Dismantlement The rate of nuclear warhead dismantlement has increased this year at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported yesterday (see GSN, March 30). “Historically, it’s been viewed as sort of filler work. That has changed this year,” said Dan Linehan, Directed Stockpile Work manager. Treaty requirements, storage space issues and the need to recycle materials for other uses have spurred the faster pace. The dismantlement rate is several times higher than prior years, Linehan said. It is expected to persist as the facility deals with warhead parts that have been in storage for up to several decades, the News Sentinel reported. There are up to seven retired weapons systems set for processing over the next five years, according to a quarterly plant report.  Among those are parts from Minuteman 1 and 2 ICBMs, the Lance tactical missile and the Spartan surface-to-air missile. “The Moscow Treaty of 2002 commits the U.S. and Russia to a total of 1,700 to 2,200 deployed warheads each by the end of 2012,” the Y-12 Report states. “This commitment requires accelerated dismantlement and disposition efforts to reduce the need to hold large amounts of materials in reserve. The question is how and where to dispose of the surplus material in a safe, secure and environmentally sound way.” Construction of the new $350 million weapon-grade uranium storage facility at Y-12 is at the halfway point, and a planned $1 billion uranium processing facility is expected to be finished around 2015 (Frank Munger, The Knoxville News Sentinel, May 29). Back to top       “Divine Strake” Test Explosion Delayed Further The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration is again delaying plans for the detonation of 700 tons of explosives at the Nevada Test Site, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Saturday (see GSN, May 10). “Divine Strake” is intended to assess U.S. capabilities to destroy buried, hardened enemy facilities.   It was initially scheduled for June 2, and then pushed back to June 23. The Energy Department agency announced Friday it would further postpone the non-nuclear explosion to allow time to study the potential for the test to kick up radioactive contamination that remains from earlier nuclear tests at the site. “We’ll do the analysis of background radiation, what will happen as it’s suspended into the dust cloud, and that will become part of our finding” for an environmental assessment, said Nevada Test Site spokesman Darwin Morgan. Results of the studies could support the government’s belief that there is no radiation danger from the test, or lead to additional environmental studies that would force more schedule delays, the Tribune reported. Utah residents who live downwind of the Nevada Test Site have sued to block the explosion, which has also met opposition from U.S. lawmakers from the state. “We have always been concerned about background radiation at the site. We have been repeatedly told, even during my staff’s visit to the site, that this was not a concern,” Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said in a prepared statement. “But since we’ve asked them to back up their conclusions with scientific evidence, it looks like our concerns are justified.” The U.S. Defense Department plans to conduct public meetings in Utah and Nevada on the matter. “Clearly the public wants to know, have a better understanding of that background radiation, what is going to happen to it,” Morgan said. “There is a clear concern from the downwinders and we understand that and we need to better explain it so they can understand it” (Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 27). Back to top       Official Touts U.S. Megaports Initiative The U.S. Megaports Initiative ultimately is expected to allow for scanning of more than half of all cargo containers shipped from foreign ports to the United States, a senior National Nuclear Security Administration said Thursday (see GSN, April 3). Radiation detection technology has been placed at 14 foreign ports in an effort to prevent smuggling of a nuclear weapon or nuclear material into the United States. Personnel from the host country operate the equipment. Agreements with another 10 nations are anticipated soon, and discussions are under way with 10 more countries, said David Huizenga, assistant deputy administrator for the NNSA International Material Protection and Cooperation Office. “Once all 70 ports [of interest] are equipped, we conservatively estimate that we will be scanning at least 40 percent of global traffic and over 50 percent of U.S.-bound containers,” Huizenga told the House Homeland Security Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attack Subcommittee. Growing levels of participation in the Megaports program spurs other countries to join, Huizenga said. Visits by President George W. Bush and other administration officials can also help finish negotiations on cooperative deals. “One country in particular refused to conclude negotiations for over two years, but then quickly agreed to complete an agreement in a matter of four days due to a presidential visit,” said Huizenga, who also expressed appreciation for lawmakers’ “focus on international port security.” Technology provided to Megaports nations includes large portal monitors capable of detecting plutonium, highly enriched uranium and other radioactive materials; hand-held sensors; computers and cameras, Huizenga said. The equipment has proven “to be operationally effective and robust in harsh, and often remote, international environments,” he said. “That being said, we recognize there are limitations in its capabilities and that there is a need for next-generation equipment that will identify both highly enriched uranium and plutonium with a high degree of efficiency and will support the prompt adjudication of innocent alarms so as not to impede commerce flow,” Huizenga said. “We are closely tracking the efforts within the NNSA and [Domestic Nuclear Defense Office] research and development programs so that we may capitalize on advancements in detection capabilities” (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, May 30). Back to top       North Korean Official in China North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun is in China for a week of talks with officials, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, May 26). Paek is scheduled to meet Premier Wen Jiabao, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing for talks on “bilateral relations, regional and international issues of common concern,” state media reported. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has said the nuclear negotiations face “serious difficulties,” according to AP (Associated Press, May 30). Back to top

WHO Delays Decision to Destroy Smallpox The World Health Organization on Saturday again failed to decide whether to eliminate the last remaining research samples of smallpox, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 22). Member states at the organization’s annual assembly could not agree on a date for full destruction of the virus samples, which are stored in the United States and Russia. Moscow and Washington have argued for maintaining the samples to allow for research of the disease, according to AFP. Nations requested that the body’s executive board draft a resolution on the issue in January 2007. The assembly would then vote on it later next year (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 27). Back to top       Livermore, UC Consider Second Biodefense Lab The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of California are considering building a Biosafety Level 4 biodefense laboratory, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday (see GSN, May 19). The two institutions are already collaborating on a Biosafety Level 3 facility, which they hope to open this year to study diseases such as anthrax, botulism and plague. Opponents have sued to force further safety assessments of that laboratory. The case is now before a federal appeals court, and arguments are to be heard June 13. A 50,000-square-foot Biosafety Level 4 facility in Tracy, Calif., would be authorized to work with the most dangerous human and animal pathogens. The laboratory would emphasize work on agricultural afflictions such as foot-and-mouth disease. “Three are a lot of diseases that could do incredible damage to California agriculture,” said Lawrence Coleman, vice provost for research at the university. The laboratory would focus on both natural and man-made agricultural diseases, and have not ruled out the study of human diseases, the Chronicle reported. “To propose location of (such a potentially hazardous) facility in the San Francisco Bay area is truly beyond comprehension, because all it would take is a single earthquake to unleash billions of deadly pathogens, for which there is no known cure, on an unsuspecting public,” said Stephan Volker, an attorney representing TRI-Valley CARES of Livermore. The group filed the lawsuit against the first laboratory, and is considering similar action against the new proposal. The new facility would be built near a planned residential area, said Tracy Councilwoman Irene Sundberg. “The (UC regents) should be putting it in their backyard and not mine,” she said. Coleman said there is good reason for placing the laboratory near San Francisco. “If you want to have the very best researchers working on these diseases in defense of the country, you have to put it somewhere where it’ll attract them,” he said. “We have the technology to make (the research) extremely safe,” he added. “Lawrence Livermore has a long history of safely and securely working with biological agents,” said Bill Colston, spokesman for the Biosafety Level 3 laboratory. “There are hundreds of these facilities in the United States with proven track records.” Documents provided by Tri-Valley CARES indicate problems with handling of biological materials at Lawrence Livermore. In one case from 1999, an employee “was mistakenly conducting experiments with a virulent strain” of anthrax and “mistakenly disposed of contaminated equipment and utensils in the trash,” according to one document (Keay Davidson, San Francisco Chronicle, May 28). Back to top

Chemical Weapons Disposal Resumes at Newport The Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Indiana yesterday resumed operations following a nearly two-week layoff for repairs, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 19). Both chemical neutralization reactors were shut down May 18 after workers found degraded valve seals in one machine. The facility replaced and tested the valve, after which Reactor No. 1 resumed neutralization of VX nerve agent, AP reported. The second reactor is set to undergo testing and then begin work again, said Jeff Brubaker, Army site project manager. “When we face challenges, we stop work, assess and correct the situation if necessary, then move forward,” said Rick Rife, project manager for contractor Parsons Technology Inc. The Newport Chemical Depot has eliminated roughly 15 percent of its stockpile of more than 250,000 gallons of VX since operations began last year (Associated Press/Star Tribune, May 29). Back to top       Court Rejects Sarin Attacker Death Sentence Appeal The Tokyo High Court today rejected a death sentence appeal for the mastermind of the deadly 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 18). Former Aum Shinrikyo cult leader Shoko Asahara is another step closer to execution as a result of the decision, according to Kyodo News. Defense attorney Takeshi Matsui said Asahara’s lawyers would file a special appeal with Japan’s Supreme Court (Associated Press, May 30).   Back to top

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