Iran has Increased Production of Enriched Uranium - IAEA
BBC
The head of the global nuclear watchdog has confirmed Iran is increasing its production of enriched uranium. But International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano said it was not clear when they will reach a limit set under a 2015 international deal. Iran announced last month that it would suspend some commitments in retaliation for sanctions reinstated by the US. Mr Amano also said he was worried about the current tensions over the Iranian nuclear issue and called for dialogue.
German Foreign Minister, in Tehran, Seeks to Save Iran Nuclear Deal
Aresu Eqbali and Sune Engel Rasmussen | Wall Street Journal
Germany’s foreign minister made a bid to salvage the Iran nuclear deal, reassuring leaders in Tehran of Europe’s commitment to the pact and showcasing European support for Iran at a time when the Islamic Republic is locked in a high-stakes battle with Washington. Tehran has accused the U.K., France and Germany—who are part of the 2015 accord—of failing to provide the pledged economic support to Iran in return for restrictions on the country’s nuclear program. The U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal last year and imposed harsh new sanctions on Iran in a bid to curb what it called Tehran’s meddling in the region. Along with the European countries, China and Russia remain parties of the deal with Iran. On a visit to Tehran Monday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the Europeans would do their best to ensure that Iran receives economic benefit from staying in the agreement.
Smith Seeks Bipartisan Balance for First Defense Policy Bill
Joe Gould | Defense News
On the one hand, the House Armed Service Committee’s draft defense policy bill would check President Donald Trump on his border wall, and on the other, it holds back some when it comes to restricting America’s nuclear arsenal. Speaking with reporters Monday, Rep. Adam Smith acknowledged he has sought to balance the concerns of progressives (who likely favor the border restrictions) and conservatives (who already oppose its restrictions on a low-yield nuclear warhead). A vote on the administration’s controversial ban on transgender troops has been punted out of committee to when the bill is considered on the House floor. Smith, D-Wash., has been the panel’s chairman since January, when Democrats assumed control of the House. Committee staff have spent recent weeks gauging members’ priorities for the must-pass bill, but with 102 members, the road to final passage is still a mystery, even to Smith.
HASC Adds NC3 Funds; Wants Talks With Russia, China
Theresa Hitchens | Breaking Defense
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) mark-up boosts funding for nuclear command, control and communications (NC3), but requires the Pentagon to develop a plan for ensuring the system’s resiliency. The plan must include options for negotiating a ban on cyber and other attacks against NC3 networks with US competitors. Congress has been expressing fears about the vulnerability of the US NC3 network to cyber intrusion for some time. The summary of the NDAA mark-up released to reporters today does not include specific budget numbers. The Pentagon requested $2.5 billion for NC3 capabilities across the spectrum of military operations. According to the text of the legislation released by the HASC strategic forces subcommittee on last week, the Pentagon NC3 plan should address “near- and long-term plans and options to ensure resilience” including requirements for survivability. It also requires DoD to propose requirements and plans for ensuring security of the NC3 supply chain. It also asks for a study on whether hosted payloads on non-DoD satellites could help carry NC3 data transmission.
Third U.S.-North Korea Summit Possible, Up to Kim: Bolton
Reuters
A third summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is possible but the ball is in Pyongyang’s court, White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Tuesday. While North Korea had kept pledges not to conduct nuclear or intercontinental range ballistic missile tests, Bolton said the United States was continuing its “maximum pressure campaign” because Kim still appeared not to have made “a strategic decision to give up the pursuit of deliverable nuclear weapons.”
U.S. Targets Efforts by China, Others to Recruit Government Scientists
Timothy Puko and Kate O’Keefe | Wall Street Journal
The U.S. Energy Department is banning its researchers from joining Chinese talent-recruitment programs after finding personnel were recruited by foreign military-linked programs and lured with multimillion-dollar packages. The move is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to stave off what it sees as China’s pervasive theft of U.S. science and technology, and it comes as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to rise. The Energy Department has become a major target for economic espionage, its leaders said, because it is the government’s primary scientific agency, supporting wide-ranging programs from elemental research in physical science up to work enhancing the military’s nuclear arsenal. The ban will apply to more than 100,000 people, mostly contractors, at a network of sites and labs across the country, often researching subjects considered vital to national security, including energy production, artificial intelligence and nuclear physics.