U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday warned that Iran could face new sanctions over its nuclear activities (Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images). Iran said Developing New Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Iran is working on a new, higher-speed uranium-enriching centrifuge at its Natanz uranium enrichment plant, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 22). The alleged development, disclosed to AFP by intelligence sources, could heighten fears shared by the United States and other Western powers that Iran is engaged in a fast-track effort to build a nuclear bomb.  Iran claims its uranium enrichment program would only generate nuclear power plant fuel...Full Story

Full U.S. House Rejects RRW Design Funds The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday rejected an effort to restore $10 million in research funds for a Bush administration program to design a new U.S. nuclear warhead, the Friends Committee on National Legislation reported today (see GSN, May 22)...Full Story

Lawmakers Slash Budget for European Missile Defenses Defense legislation approved yesterday in the House of Representatives authorizes less than half the funding sought by the Bush administration for development of missile defense installations in Europe, RIA Novosti reported (see GSN, May 15)...Full Story

	Friday, May 23, 2008

Morocco Joins PSI; Program’s Fifth Anniversary Nears Morocco has committed to participate in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, a multinational effort to curb illicit trafficking of WMD technologies, the State Department announced yesterday (see GSN, May 13). Ninety nations have signed onto the initiative “to combat the greatest threats of our time:  global terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” the department said (U.S. State Department release I, May 22). Morocco’s decision comes near the initiative’s fifth anniversary, to be marked in a special session of representatives from participating nations next week in Washington. The State Department summarized the program’s accomplishments to date. “Since its inception, PSI states have held more than 30 interdiction exercises, shared information to stop proliferation-related shipments, promoted international cooperation and capacity-building to stop transfers of items and materials of WMD proliferation concern, and sent a clear and strong message to proliferators that PSI members are committed to using the full range of diplomatic, economic, law enforcement, and military tools to prevent proliferation consistent with national and international laws” (U.S. State Department release II, May 22). Back to top

Iran Said Developing New Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Iran is working on a new, higher-speed uranium-enriching centrifuge at its Natanz uranium enrichment plant, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 22). The alleged development, disclosed to AFP by intelligence sources, could heighten fears shared by the United States and other Western powers that Iran is engaged in a fast-track effort to build a nuclear bomb.  Iran claims its uranium enrichment program would only generate nuclear power plant fuel. International Atomic Energy Agency officials have already viewed experimental versions of the new centrifuge model, called the “IR-3,” according to one diplomatic source.  Some of the prototype machines “have already been installed,” said an intelligence source. “The Iranians are working at the site around the clock in order to obtain immediate results,” said the source.  “Checks as to the centrifuges’ proper functioning have reached the final stage.” Iranian officials have claimed that the IR-3 is more efficient than the IR-2, a smaller next-generation Iranian centrifuge based on Pakistani technology (Agence France-Presse I/Google News, May 23). Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband yesterday said that new economic penalties could be imposed on Iran if that nation does not quickly explain its disputed nuclear activities, the Associated Press reported. Speaking during a joint trip to California, Rice said Iran’s claim to nuclear transparency would be undermined by its refusal to explain evidence put forward by the U.N. nuclear watchdog that Tehran may have conducted nuclear-weapon design research. “One of the strongest parts of our policy has been to require Iran to be fully transparent with the IAEA, which should have the right to the full array of inspections in Iran,” Rice told reporters.  “If Iran has peaceful intent as they say, they should have no problem with the International Atomic Energy Agency having complete, absolute and total access, and the word that is coming out is that that is not being provided to the IAEA.” According to Miliband, pressure on Iran to explain its sensitive nuclear work would increase following the imminent release of an IAEA progress report on the agency’s probe into Iran’s nuclear intentions (Matthew Lee, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, May 23).  The agency today said it would release the report Monday to its governing body, Iran’s Press TV reported (Press TV, May 23). Rice said that Iran could avoid facing new U.N. Security Council and unilateral penalties by suspending its uranium enrichment program in exchange for a package of political and economic incentives put forward by the five permanent council members and Germany. “There is no doubt that there are further steps that the coalition of states that are working on this could take within the Security Council framework if Iran is not prepared to accept the really quite favorable and quite generous package that has been offered to it,” Rice said.  “They are already paying [economic] consequences and, of course, there are other possible courses available to us.” The United States is considering measures to isolate additional Iranian banks from international financial networks, Rice said, adding that Washington could impose the moves at any time if Iran continues to defy the international community (Lee, AP). Iran has offered a compromise plan under which a foreign entity would perform uranium enrichment activities inside Iran to prevent production of weapon-grade material, the London Telegraph reported today. The newspaper noted that the plan would not prevent Tehran from secretly continuing uranium enrichment activities at another site (David Blair, London Telegraph, May 23). Elsewhere, U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) yesterday denied a Haaretz report that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had raised the possibility of imposing a naval blockade on Iran over its nuclear work, AFP reported. Olmert allegedly raised the idea during a luncheon with Pelosi earlier this week. “During the luncheon meeting with Prime Minister Olmert, there was never any mention of a US naval blockade of Iranian ports,” said Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami (Agence France-Presse II/Google News, May 22). Back to top       Full U.S. House Rejects RRW Design Funds The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday rejected an effort to restore $10 million in research funds for a Bush administration program to design a new U.S. nuclear warhead, the Friends Committee on National Legislation reported today (see GSN, May 22). The House Armed Services Committee had earlier zeroed funding for development of the Reliable Replacement Warhead, but Representative Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) sought to restore the money through an amendment to the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill. The amendment failed yesterday by a vote of 271-145, and the entire authorization bill was approved later in the day (see related GSN story, today). “The resounding defeat of the Pearce amendment in the House should send a strong signal to proponents of RRW in the Senate and the administration that people in the United States strongly oppose new nuclear weapons,” said Friends lobbyist David Culp in a press release (Friends Committee on National Legislation release, May 23). Back to top       North Korea Could Move Quickly on Denuclearization North Korea might submit its long-awaited nuclear declaration next week and then quickly begin dismantling its atomic facilities, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 22). Officials in Washington said Pyongyang might begin dismantlement efforts before the details of its declaration are confirmed.  Rapid movement would be an attempt to make up for the lack of progress this year while North Korea and the United States argued over details of the document. Washington claimed that Pyongyang was unwilling to provide full details of its nuclear programs required under the second phase 2007 denuclearization agreement.  A U.S.-North Korean compromise reportedly calls for the regime to provide full details of its plutonium operations while only acknowledging U.S. suspicions regarding uranium enrichment efforts and nuclear proliferation to nations such as Syria.  U.S. officials earlier this month received seven boxes of documents on operations of North Korea’s plutonium-producing nuclear reactor. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said yesterday he expected Pyongyang to soon file the declaration with China.  “Things are moving ahead,” he said during an event in Washington. “I think the logic of it is they submit it to the Chinese, the Chinese make sure the rest of us get a copy of it and then we all look at it and we don’t need any six-party meeting (to discuss the declaration,” Hill said, referring to the meetings in Beijing that involve China, Japan, Russia, the United States and both Koreas. Participating nations have “a fairly good idea of what is going to be in” the declaration, Hill said.  The verification effort should not delay nuclear dismantlement in North Korea, he said. North Korea met its obligations under the first phase of work by halting operations at the Yongbyon nuclear facility.  The second phase calls for submission of the declaration and disablement of three key plants at Yongbyon; work there is continuing.  The final phase involves full dismantlement of Pyongyang’s nuclear facilities. In return, North Korea stands to receive economic, diplomatic and security benefits from the other five nations. Hill, top U.S. envoy to the talks, said he hoped negotiators would meet soon to consider the last phase of work.  “Verification is a process that can take months, so you don’t want to wait for all verification before you then move to a six-party meeting,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, May 22). Hill could meet with his North Korean counterpart next week in Beijing, a source told Reuters.  The envoy, who met this week with negotiators from Japan and South Korea, declined to confirm the statement. “We had a trilateral meeting which we thought was very successful, and at some point we do want to brief other participants in the six parties, including China and Russia,” Hill said. Meanwhile, analysts said the 18,822 pages of documents appear to provide useful information on North Korea’s plutonium operations. “At first blush, it looks like good data,” said one congressional source.  The material seems to be “comprehensive, it is consistent with what we had thought, and it covers the time period we are interested in … and it does not appear to be fabricated,” the source added. “It appears that there’s been significant progress on one part of the data declaration — to be sure, a very important part — that related to the plutonium-based weapons,” said Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation (Arshad Mohammed, Reuters/Washington Post, May 22). The U.S. Senate yesterday removed restrictions on support from Washington for North Korean efforts to eliminate its nuclear facilities, the Yonhap News Agency reported. The fiscal 2008 war supplemental bill includes a partial waiver of the “Glenn Amendment,” which prohibits the Energy Department from providing funding for nuclear dismantlement work in nations that have conducted a nuclear test.  North Korea set off a nuclear weapon in October 2006. “Dismantlement and disablement activities shall include removal of nuclear materials from the Korean Peninsula and activities to verify that North Korea is fulfilling its denuclearization commitments,” according to the bill, which also provides $15 million for “critical health, economic and security needs” in the Stalinist state (Yonhap News Agency, May 23). Back to top       Lawrence Livermore Lays Off Hundreds Hundreds of workers lost their jobs this week at a major U.S. nuclear-weapon laboratory due to funding cuts and unexpectedly high costs, the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday (see GSN, April 16). The cuts were the first ever “involuntary separations” of permanent staff at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, a facility that checks the continued viability of U.S. nuclear warheads and leads a Bush administration effort to field a new warhead design. Pink slips were delivered to 330 employees yesterday, and another 110 workers were expected to receive notice today, according to the Chronicle. The laboratory released about 500 temporary and contract workers earlier this year. The laboratory has no plans to eliminate any programs and does not plan additional work force cuts this year, said spokeswoman Susan Houghton. “We are a national security laboratory, so we are going to work very hard to retain the national security skills to fulfill our mission,” she said.  “Like any good business, we’re going to set our goals and reorganize based on where we believe future work will be coming from and how we can deliver our goods and services in the most efficient manner” (Jim Doyle, San Francisco Chronicle, May 23). Back to top       U.S. Tests Minuteman Missile The United States yesterday conducted a successful extended-range test of its nuclear-capable Minuteman 3 ICBM, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 8, 2007). After lifting off just after 3 a.m., the unarmed missile flew roughly 5,250 miles and struck its target off of Guam in the southern Pacific Ocean, according to 2nd Lt. Raymond Geoffroy.  The exercise confirmed that the Minuteman system is reliable and accurate, Geoffroy said. Outfitted with testing apparatus provided by the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, the missile flew about 1,000 miles farther than it would in a standard test. “The longer flight path is part of our testing procedures,” said Capt. Jason Yeates, the mission’s launch director.  “Every three years we test the extended range of the missile” (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, May 22). Back to top

Umatilla Depot to Restart CW Destruction Next Month The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Oregon is set to resume operations next month following a mechanical problem that forced a work stoppage last week, the U.S. Army said (see GSN, May 15). On May 14, one of the facility’s two liquid incinerators was shut down when piping in its quench tower became clogged.  The second incinerator could not run because it was undergoing a routine two-month maintenance period. Weapons disposal is expected to begin again in early June using the second incinerator, once the maintenance work is completed and inspected. “We originally planned for redundant equipment in key areas of the plant,” said Army site project manager Mike Strong in a press release.  “Having two liquid incinerators gives us the option of restarting processing as we continue to inspect and repair equipment damaged on May 14.” The first incinerator was not processing chemicals on the day the clog occurred.  While the incident released steam and smoke into one area, it posed no threat to the public or surrounding environment, the Army said.  Workers are now repairing the machine. The operations suspension occurred during disposal of 155 mm artillery munitions loaded with VX nerve agent.  More than 21,000 of the projectiles have been destroyed to date at Umatilla. Once all 155 mm munitions are destroyed — a goal expected to be reached this summer even with the current delay — the facility is scheduled to begin eliminating 8-inch VX projectiles and VX land mines.  When destruction of the VX weapons is complete, the plant will undergo preparations to begin destroying bulk containers filled with mustard agent (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, May 22). Back to top       Russian CW Disposal Plant to Open in June Russia plans to hold a ceremony on June 17 to mark the opening of its new chemical weapons destruction plant at Leonidovka in the Penza region, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 21, 2007; Interfax, May 22) Back to top       Guinea-Bissau Joins Chemical Weapons Convention Guinea-Bissau is set to become the 184th member nation to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the treaty’s monitoring agency announced today (see GSN, April 25). The African nation submitted its ratification papers to the United Nations on Tuesday.  The convention is scheduled to enter into force in Guinea-Bissau on June 19. Member states to the convention are barred from developing, producing, stockpiling, using or exporting weapons that feature materials such as mustard blister agent or the nerve agents sarin and VX. A total of 50 African countries have joined the treaty, according to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.  “As an OPCW member state, Guinea-Bissau will benefit from OPCW’s international cooperation-and-assistance programs, which aim to enhance each state party’s national capacity to implement the convention and to engage in the peaceful uses of chemistry,” the agency said in a press release. Eleven nations have yet to join the convention — Angola, the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia and Syria (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons release, May 23). Back to top

India Fires Nuclear-Capable Missile India today test-fired a short-range ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to a neighboring state, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 7). “It was a user trial of the army version of the [93-155 mile-range] Prithvi,” an Indian defense scientist said, noting that the missile was launched at 10:30 a.m. local time. India first tested the 28-foot-long, ground-launched missile in 1988 (Agence France-Presse/Google News, May 23). Back to top

Lawmakers Slash Budget for European Missile Defenses Defense legislation approved yesterday in the House of Representatives authorizes less than half the funding sought by the Bush administration for development of missile defense installations in Europe, RIA Novosti reported (see GSN, May 15). Lawmakers voted 384-23 in favor of the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill, which provides $341.2 million for a planned early warning radar site in the Czech Republic and deployment of 10 missile interceptors in Poland.  The administration had sought $712 million. Washington and Prague are expected to soon sign a deal on the radar.  Negotiations are continuing with Warsaw. The House bill would allow a total of $10.2 billion in spending on U.S. missile defense operations.  Actual funding would be provided through appropriations legislation. The Senate next month is expected to vote on its version of the authorization bill.  Lawmakers there have backed the full request for European missile defenses. Fiscal 2009 begins Oct. 1 (RIA Novosti, May 23). In a statement yesterday, the White House listed reductions in missile defense funding as one possible cause for a veto of the House legislation. “The administration strongly opposes the significant reduction of over $700 million to our missile defense programs, including European Missile Defense, Airborne Laser, the Multiple Kill Vehicle and the Kinetic Energy Interceptor,” according to the Management and Budget Office.  “The administration is particularly concerned with the reduction of $371 million for the European Missile Defense program, which would jeopardize the security of the United States and our European allies by delaying the fielding of missile defense assets to protect against the emerging missile threat posed by Iran” (Management and Budget Office release, May 22). Meanwhile, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today signed a joint statement of opposition to U.S. missile defense plans around the world, Reuters reported. “Both sides believe that creating a global missile defense system, including deploying such systems in certain regions of the world, or plans for such cooperation, do not help support strategic balance and stability, and harm international efforts to control arms and the nonproliferation process,” according to the statement released during Medvedev’s trip to Beijing. “It harms the strengthening of trust between states and regional stability.  In this respect (the two sides) express their concern,” the statement added (Reuters, May 23). Russia has been particularly outspoken in its opposition to the U.S. plan, characterizing the proposed systems as a security threat.  Prior to leaving Moscow, Medvedev said yesterday Russia would produce “an adequate response” to missile shield installations in Europe, Agence France-Presse reported.  However, the new president indicated he was open to talks on the matter. “I don't think the situation is completely hopeless but those decisions that have been taken cannot please us and we will be forced to find an adequate response," Medvedev told Chinese journalists. “The worst thing would be simply to close the doors and windows and not to listen.  That's why of course we are ready to continue negotiations on all tracks ... with our European partners and American partners,” he added (Agence France-Presse I/Spacewar.com, May 22). Following Medvedev’s comments, a spokeswoman for the U.S. National Security Council said “The United States and Russia are going to continue to work together on this issue,” AFP reported. “We understand they have concerns, but we are pleased to see that President Medvedev is open to our ongoing work and discussion,” said Kate Starr (Agence France-Presse II/Spacewar.com, May 22). Elsewhere, Poland yesterday reaffirmed its expectation that it would receive U.S. support for upgrades to its military in return for housing the missile interceptors, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The comment from Deputy Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski came after a U.S. negotiator said that most of the money for military modernization would have to come from Warsaw. “It is obvious that Poland would finance its army and defense system modernization but we also expect the U.S. to significantly contribute financially to upgrading the Polish armed forces," Waszczykowski said. “Under way are talks on the base, shield and modernization of the Polish army.  And everything is still ahead of us,” he added (Xinhua News Agency, May 22). Back to top

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