Great Decisions 2011 Fall Updates: Sanctions and nonproliferation
In a report released in late May, the International Atomic Energy Agency disclosed that it had evidence that Iran has worked on a specialized technology used in detonating nuclear weapons. The report also indicates that Iran’s nuclear program is moving past the crippling Stuxnet worm attack. Iran has denied the allegations made in the IAEA report, which does not explicitly identify its sources, but likely drew on intelligence from the U.S. and Israel. On June 8, Iran announced that it would accelerate its production of concentrated nuclear fuel.
Iran insists that its nuclear activity is peaceful, but experts are alarmed at the news that Iran is planning for more fuel production at a formerly secret nuclear facility near Qum. The enriched fuel, which is 20 percent pure, is interpreted as a move toward the production of weapons-grade nuclear fuel, which is 90 percent pure.
The advance of Iran’s nuclear technology has not been deterred by multiple rounds of sanctions; however, Russian negotiators in August cautiously offered a proposal that would bring Iran back to the negotiating table with six major world powers—the U.S., Britain, France, China, Germany and Russia—in exchange for concessions.
On August 23, Iran granted access to one of its uranium enrichment facilities to Herman Nackaerts, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The step comes while talks about Iran’s nuclear program have largely stalled.
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North and South Korean negotiators met on July 20 to discuss North Korea’s nuclear program. The meeting sets the stage for the possible resumption of six-nation nuclear talks—including the U.S., Russia, China, Japan and the two Koreas—which North Korea has been boycotting. In August, talks between Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il produced a cautious agreement to return to six-nation negotiations without preconditions to discuss a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing. The U.S. and South Korea have demanded that North Korea declare such a moratorium before talks take place.
In the meantime, North and South Korea have been engaging in desultory shelling in each other’s direction. On August 10, North Korea fired shells near the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong; South Korea fired back in response.
Note: The Great Decisions fall Updates were researched as of 8/25/2011.