Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed yesterday to continue the nation’s nuclear activities in the face of both international and domestic criticism (Atta Kenare/Getty Images). Iran Bars Nuclear Inspectors Iran has banned 38 international nuclear inspectors from entering the country, apparently in response to economic sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council in December, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 22). Iran’s parliament approved a bill late last month calling on the nation to revise its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.  Banning the inspectors was the first stage of that action, said Alaeddin Borujerdi, head of the parliament’s foreign policy and national security committee. The committee has decided to bar 38 inspectors from coming to Iran, and we have announced the new limitation to the agency,” he said yesterday in announcing the move...Full Story

North Korea Suggests Flexibility on Nuclear Stance North Korea indicated today it might take a more flexible position during the next round of six-nation talks on its nuclear program, Reuters reported (see GSN, Jan. 22)...Full Story

New U.S. Warhead Plan Faces Criticism Bush administration interest in merging two separate designs for a new nuclear warhead has raised concern among U.S. weapons experts, the Los Angeles Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 8)...Full Story

	Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Iran Bars Nuclear Inspectors Iran has banned 38 international nuclear inspectors from entering the country, apparently in response to economic sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council in December, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 22). Iran’s parliament approved a bill late last month calling on the nation to revise its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.  Banning the inspectors was the first stage of that action, said Alaeddin Borujerdi, head of the parliament’s foreign policy and national security committee. The committee has decided to bar 38 inspectors from coming to Iran, and we have announced the new limitation to the agency,” he said yesterday in announcing the move. Borujerdi said Iran would continue to allow other inspectors, and IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said yesterday the agency could continue the job of monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities. “There are a sufficient number of inspectors designated for Iran, and the IAEA is able to perform its inspection activities in accordance with Iran’s comprehensive safeguards agreement,” she said (Nazila Fathi, New York Times, Jan. 23). That agreement allows Iran to refuse entry to individual inspectors without offering a reason as long as the overall monitoring mission is unaffected, a diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse. However, the agency’s governing board could take action if it finds that “as a result of the repeated refusal of the government of Iran to accept the designation of agency inspectors, inspections to be conducted under this agreement would be impeded,” the text of the agreement says (Agence France-Presse I/Yahoo!News, Jan. 22). Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani spoke to agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei today, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse II/Yahoo!News, Jan. 23). The United States criticized the move by Tehran. “It’s another indication that Iran continues in its defiant attitude toward the international community,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday.  “This regime clearly doesn’t get it.” “If they continue in this kind of behavior, they will find themselves only more and more isolated from the rest of the world,” he added (Agence France-Presse III/Yahoo!News, Jan. 22). Concerns about Iran’s isolation have been increasingly expressed within the country, with a major cleric joining recent calls for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to scale down his nuclear rhetoric. “One has to deal with the enemy with wisdom,” said Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri.  “We should not provoke the enemy, otherwise the country will be faced with problems.” Montazeri was the first high-level cleric to directly criticize Ahmadinejad, the Times reported, although recent editorials from newspapers owned by other clerics have urged the president to focus his attention on domestic troubles (Fathi, New York Times). Back to top       North Korea Suggests Flexibility on Nuclear Stance North Korea indicated today it might take a more flexible position during the next round of six-nation talks on its nuclear program, Reuters reported (see GSN, Jan. 22). “Everything can change,” lead negotiator Kim Kye Gwan said after being asked if Pyongyang would change its position. During the last round of talks in December, North Korea refused to discuss the nuclear issue, demanding that the matter of U.S. sanctions be resolved first. Kim met today in Beijing with negotiators Wu Dawei of China and Chun Young-woo of South Korea.  The meeting comes amidst increasing diplomacy aimed at restarting the multilateral negotiations and ensuring progress is made when they resume. “We confirmed the possibility for progress in the next round of North Korea nuclear talks,” Chun said.  He said he expected the talks to resume by Feb. 5.  “Talks will resume at least by then … China will announce dates within the next two to three days.” When negotiations resume, steps should be taken to implement the 2005 agreement in which North Korea pledged in principle to eliminate its nuclear weapons program, China said.  In return, it would receive aid and security guarantees from the other participating nations — China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. “We should … discuss the setting up and perfecting of a mechanism to carry out the statement and a general timetable should be drafted to ensure its implementation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. Kim said changes in the U.S. position on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program increased the chances for progress on ending the standoff, the Associated Press reported (Associated Press/New York Times, Jan. 23). Chun said he believed that officials from Washington and Pyongyang would meet before the next six-party talks to address financial sanctions against North Korea, Reuters reported (Lindsay Beck, Reuters I/Yahoo!News, Jan. 23). During meetings last week in Berlin between U.S. and North Korean negotiators, Washington agreed to look at whether some frozen funds at a Macau-based bank could be released to Pyongyang, Kyodo News reported. Banco Delta Asia froze $24 million that the United States charged was connected to North Korean counterfeiting and smuggling (Reuters II, Jan. 22). South Korean officials believe that between five and seven of the 50 frozen accounts contain legitimate funds, Agence France-Presse reported.  “This means that as far as we’ve confirmed, those accounts have nothing to do with drug trafficking, money-laundering or counterfeit dollars,” a source told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. Seoul has asked that Washington consider unfreezing at least five accounts.  “Releasing money in those accounts from the freeze is aimed at saving North Korea’s face in order to encourage it to proceed with the six-party talks,” the source said (Agence France-Presse I/Yahoo!News, Jan. 23). The North Korean ambassador to Russia today said the United States should lift the financial sanctions if it wants to see progress on the nuclear talks, AFP reported. “The United States still has not decided on lifting the sanctions and this shows that they are not ready to end hostile policies toward North Korea,” said Ambassador Kim An Dzhe.  “It’s not certain that in a situation of sanctions we can renounce our nuclear potential” (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Jan. 23). Back to top       New U.S. Warhead Plan Faces Criticism Bush administration interest in merging two separate designs for a new nuclear warhead has raised concern among U.S. weapons experts, the Los Angeles Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 8). Seeking to replace deployed U.S. warheads with a new rugged warhead that would never require explosive testing, the administration initiated a design competition between the nation’s two major nuclear weapons laboratories.  The development program is called the Reliable Replacement Warhead. The laboratories submitted their designs last year.  The Energy Department then expressed an interest in combining features of both designs, in part as a way to sustain workers at both laboratories, according to the Times. Some experts, including a prestigious scientific advisory board called the JASON group, have questioned whether combining the two designs would undermine confidence in the warhead’s reliability, the Times reported. “I have heard concerns in the technical community that this is risky, but others say it will work,” said an official at the U.S. Strategic Command.  “It’s a mixed opinion” (Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 23). Back to top

Fort Detrick Biodefense Site Receives $3M Upgrade The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md., has received a $3 million upgrade that will allow it to expand the study of pathogens identified as major bioterrorism threats, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 13, 2006). Live viruses have not yet been placed in the laboratory.  However, it is ready to begin operations. Older equipment has been replaced and the laboratory has been reconfigured for efficiency and extra space, said USAMRIID spokeswoman Caree Vander Linden.  That has allowed the cell culture space to be quadrupled and the animal space to be nearly doubled. Workers in containment suits would connect to compressed air breathing lines installed around the laboratory.  To leave, they would have to enter an air lock and spend six minutes under a disinfectant shower. Air pressure inside the laboratory is kept lower than that outside to ensure that no pathogens escape.  Air is filtered before entering the building and goes through double filtering on its way out.  Ultraviolet light, disinfectants, fumigation and other processes further prevent escapes of infectious materials from the laboratory. The research institute has one of four U.S. Biosafety Level 4 laboratories that work with the most dangerous biological threats.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and the Southwest Research Foundation in San Antonio operate the others, AP reported. Additional Level 4 sites are being built at Fort Detrick, Boston and Hamilton, Mont. (Alex Dominguez, Associated Press/WTOP, Jan. 23). Back to top       Microwave Ovens Might Kill Anthrax Microwave ovens might be able to kill possible bioterrorism agents such as anthrax spores, according to preliminary research announced yesterday by the University of Florida (see GSN, Dec. 13, 2005). Environmental engineering professor Gabriel Bitton found that a microwave within 10 minutes could kill 98 percent of Bacillus cereus spores — standing in for anthrax — on an envelope.  That indicates that people who fear they might have received tainted mail could use a microwave for protection, he said. Further research is necessary to determine whether microwave ovens would be effective against real anthrax spores, according to Bitton (University of Florida release, Jan. 22). Back to top

Former Chilean President Murdered, Family Says The family of former Chilean President Eduardo Frei Montalva said traces of mustard gas have recently been found in his remains, bolstering their belief that he was killed during the regime of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the BBC reported today (see GSN, May 18, 2006). Frei Montalva served as president from 1964 to 1970.  He died in 1982, with the official cause listed as septicemia — the persistent presence of bacteria in the bloodstream. Family members believed that Frei Montalva had been murdered. “We have always said we want to know the truth and this is a substantial advance,” said his son, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Chilean president from 1994 to 2000 and now a senator. That family plans to sue to have the cause of death reclassified and hopes authorities will order a murder investigation, the BBC reported. Pinochet died in 2006 (BBC News, Jan. 23). Back to top

China Points 900 Missiles at Taiwan, Report Says More than 900 Chinese ballistic missiles are aimed at Taiwan, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb, 8, 2006). The number of deployed missiles, with ranges between 300 and 600 miles, continues to increase, a U.S. intelligence source told Taiwan’s United Daily News newspaper. In July 2006, Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian said China had 784 ballistic and 36 cruise missiles pointed at the island. Taiwan has three Patriot batteries, which would not provide full protection from a significant Chinese missile attack in the event that the territorial dispute bloomed into war, Taiwanese Defense Ministry officials told the Daily News.  A 10-hour missile bombardment could cause serious damage to Taiwan’s communications, transportation and command centers, the ministry said.  The missiles could also destroy Taiwan’s air force (Agence France-Presse/Sino Daily, Jan. 22). Back to top

U.S. Denies Aiming Missile Defense at Russia The United States yesterday denied that plans for missile defense installations in Eastern Europe are being made with Russia in mind, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Jan. 22). “It’s not aimed at Russia, it’s aimed at those irresponsible nations that may possess these technologies that could threaten our friends and allies, that could threaten the United States,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.  “We are open to missile defense cooperation with Russia, so it’s not meant to exclude Russia.” Moscow remained unconvinced that a proposed missile interceptor installation in Poland and radar system in the Czech Republic are intended to provide protection against missiles fired from Iran or North Korea. “It’d doubtful that Iranian or North Korean rockets would go across Poland or the Czech Republic.  The radar in the Czech Republic would be able to monitor rocket installations in central Russia and the Northern Fleet,” said Gen. Vladimir Popovkin. McCormack said negotiations with the Eastern European nations are just beginning, AFP reported. “Numerous discussions and negotiations and consultations will be required to move forward on this plan,” he said.  “There will be more discussions that are needed with the Czech Republic and Poland in order to actually break ground and pour concrete” (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Jan. 22). Back to top       Chinese Antisatellite Test Should Spur U.S. to Deploy Space-Based Missile Defenses, Expert Says A Chinese antisatellite test earlier this month demonstrates that the United States must deploy space-based missile defenses to protect its satellites, according to a Washington-based missile defense proponent (see GSN, Jan. 19). China successfully destroyed an aging weather satellite Jan. 11 by hitting it with a medium-range ballistic missile.  It was the first antisatellite test since a U.S. test in 1985. “In destroying their own satellite, China has signaled to the world its capability to threaten essential satellites directly, by physically destroying them, and indirectly, by using lasers and other jamming techniques to deny free use of them,” Jeff Kueter, head of the George C. Marshall Institute, wrote in a paper this month.  “The Chinese die is cast.  They are a military space power and a force the U.S. must reckon with immediately.” Kueter expressed skepticism that diplomatic arms control would restrain Chinese space activities.  Therefore, missile defenses are need, he said. “If the international community is truly worried about the debris-generating effects of ASAT weapons, then it ought to embrace, indeed demand, development and deployment of boost-phase missile defense capable of intercepting ASAT missiles long before they reach their satellite targets,” he said (Space and Missile Defense Report, Jan. 22). For its part, China said today that its test was peaceful. “The test is not targeted at any country and will not threaten any country,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, in Beijing last weekend to brief Chinese officials on his recent talks with North Korean officials in Berlin (see related GSN story, today), urged caution. He told Chinese officials to “avoid any sort of misunderstandings, not only with the United States, but other countries around the world,” U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday (Audra Ang, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, Jan. 23). Back to top

Conference on Disarmament Begins 2007 Session The U.N. Conference on Disarmament opened its 2007 session yesterday after another year of deadlock.  The conference has been unable to agree on a negotiating agenda for a decade (see GSN, July 18, 2006). In a statement read to the conference, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged this year’s session to “rise to the challenge” of invigorating international disarmament and nonproliferation efforts. He called for progress on a treaty to ban the production of fissile materials for weapons (see GSN, May 18, 2006), for bringing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty into force (see GSN, Jan. 22), for developing stronger “negative security assurances” from nuclear-weapon states (see GSN, Apr. 27, 2005), and for preventing an arms race in space (see related GSN story, today). “I look to the Conference on Disarmament to lead progress on all these fronts,” Ban said.  “I need hardly remind you that the stakes are high” (U.N. release, Jan. 22). Back to top

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