Iran Curbs U.N. Probe Into Tehran Nuclear Equipment Site
Laurence Norman | Wall Street Journal
Iran is stifling a United Nations probe of its alleged storage of nuclear equipment and radioactive material in Tehran, diplomats say, leading to fresh concerns about Iran’s activities at a critical moment for the fate of the 2015 nuclear deal. The diplomats said Iran has refused to provide answers to important questions raised by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency over allegations, first made public by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a year ago, that Iran had established a now-dismantled site in Tehran to store equipment and material used during past nuclear weapons work. It is the first time Iran seems to have refused to cooperate with the IAEA’s monitoring of its activities since the multination accord was implemented in January 2016. It comes as European powers, led by France, try to prevent the deal’s collapse after the U.S. withdrew from the agreement in May 2018 and then reimposed tight sanctions on Iran, in violation of the deal. Until recently, the IAEA repeatedly said Iran was meeting all its commitments and cooperating with inspections. Iran’s behavior has sparked sharp debate in and around the IAEA, the diplomats said. The agency, they said, had recently told member states it would criticize Iran for not cooperating. But in a report released to member states on Friday, the agency made only a vague reference to the issue.
France Pushes $15 Billion Credit Line Plan for Iran, if U.S. Allows It
John Irish and Parisa Hafezi | Reuters
France has proposed offering Iran about $15 billion in credit lines until year-end if Tehran comes fully back into compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal, a move that hinges on Washington not blocking it, Western and Iranian sources said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian said talks on the credit arrangement, which would be guaranteed by Iranian oil revenues, were continuing, but U.S. approval would be crucial. The idea is “to exchange a credit line guaranteed by oil in return for, one, a return to the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal)...and two, security in the Gulf and the opening of negotiations on regional security and a post-2025 (nuclear program),” le Drian told reporters. “All this (pre)supposes that President Trump issues waivers.” European leaders have struggled to dampen brewing confrontation between Tehran and Washington since U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal, which assures Iran access to world trade in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
North Korea Missile Tests, ‘Very Standard’ to Trump, Show Signs of Advancing Arsenal
David Sanger and William Broad | New York Times
As North Korea fired off a series of missiles in recent months — at least 18 since May — President Trump has repeatedly dismissed their importance as short-range and “very standard” tests. And although he has conceded “there may be a United Nations violation,” the president says any concerns are overblown. Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, Mr. Trump explained recently, just “likes testing missiles.” Now, American intelligence officials and outside experts have come to a far different conclusion: that the launchings downplayed by Mr. Trump, including two late last month, have allowed Mr. Kim to test missiles with greater range and maneuverability that could overwhelm American defenses in the region. The rapid improvements in the short-range missiles not only put Japan and South Korea in increased danger, but also threaten at least eight American bases in those countries housing more than 30,000 troops, according to an analysis of the missile ranges by The New York Times. Such missiles, experts say, could be designed to carry either conventional or nuclear warheads.
Top North Korean, Chinese Diplomats Meet in Pyongyang Amid Stalled Nuclear Talks With U.S.
Jesse Johnson | Japan Times
The foreign ministers of China and North Korea have held talks in Pyongyang, with the two allies vowing to bolster bilateral ties and work closely on security issues amid the North’s stalled nuclear talks with the U.S. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and North Korean top diplomat Ri Yong Ho met Monday to discuss a wide range of issues, including regional security and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday. Wang is in the North Korean capital for a three-day visit, and speculation has grown that the trip could be aimed at helping Pyongyang shore up its position in the nuclear talks while also laying the groundwork for a possible visit by leader Kim Jong Un to Beijing. North Korea has also unleashed a barrage of criticism at the Trump administration, including a statement last week that said expectations for the talks “are fading away” after “offensive” remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pakistan Won’t Initiate Military Conflict With India: Imran Khan
Al Jazeera
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has pledged that his country would not initiate any military conflict with India, warning of the risk to the world of nuclear war breaking out between the South Asian neighbours as tensions over the disputed region of Kashmir remain at fever pitch. “We are two nuclear-armed countries, if tensions rise then there is a danger to the world from this,” Khan told a gathering of visiting Indian Sikhs in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Monday. “From our side, we will never act first.” Khan's remarks were initially reported by the Reuters news agency as promising not to use nuclear weapons first, but Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that there was no change to Pakistan's nuclear defensive posture. Spokesman Muhammad Faisal said the remarks had been “taken out of context”. “While conflict should not take place between two nuclear states, there's no change in Pakistan's nuclear policy,” he said in a statement.
China Still Pursuing Nuclear Fuel Processing Plant With Areva: Official
Reuters
China is still actively promoting a nuclear fuel processing project with France’s Areva, the head of its nuclear safety watchdog said at a briefing on Tuesday, where he also criticized a U.S. blacklisting of Chinese nuclear firms. Commercial negotiations on the Areva project are “almost concluded,” Liu Hua, the head of the National Nuclear Safety Administration and vice minister of ecology and environment, said at the briefing to introduce China’s first white paper on nuclear safety. A formal go-ahead for the reprocessing plant would be a major boost for Areva, which has been discussing the project, valued at some $12 billion, for more than a decade. Liu gave no indication whether a site had already been selected for the project, which has been repeatedly delayed, with a previously proposed venue in Lianyungang, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, canceled after protests.