Iran’s Rouhani Rules Out Talks With U.S. Until Sanctions Lifted
Parisa Hafezi | Reuters
Iran will not talk to the United States until all sanctions imposed on Tehran are lifted, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump said he would meet his Iranian counterpart to try to end a nuclear standoff. Trump said on Monday he would meet Iran’s president under the right circumstances to end a confrontation that began when Washington pulled out of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers and reimposed sanctions on the country. Trump also said talks were under way to see how countries could open credit lines to keep Iran’s economy afloat. Rouhani said Iran was always ready to hold talks. “But first the U.S. should act by lifting all illegal, unjust and unfair sanctions imposed on Iran,” he said in a speech broadcast live on state TV. Speaking at a G7 summit in the French resort of Biarritz, Trump ruled out lifting economic sanctions to compensate for losses suffered by Iran.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin Vows ‘Symmetric Response’ to U.S. Missile Test
Deutsche Welle
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he had ordered the military to prepare a “symmetric response” after Washington tested a type of ground-launched missile that was banned under a 1987 treaty. He said he had also ordered an analysis of “the level of threat for our country created by the action of the US.” He added that the test confirmed Moscow's prior suspicions that the US had planned to deploy banned weapons in Europe, as it used a launcher similar to those deployed at a US missile defense site in Romania and a prospective site in Poland. “How would we know what they will deploy in Romania and Poland — missile defense systems or strike missile systems with a significant range?” he said, claiming that the test had disproven US assurances that the launchers were suitable only for interceptor missiles, not surface-to-surface missiles. Putin's address followed a heated exchange between the US and Russia at a UN meeting on Thursday, where each accused the other of risking a new arms race, while China stood by and asserted it would not be involved in any new missile deal.
Isotopes Composition Proves a Reactor Was Involved in Nenoksa Accident, Expert Says
Thomas Nilsen | Barents Observer
The Northern Department of Russia’s Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, Roshydromet, together with its Research Association ‘Typhoon’ on Monday revealed some of the radionuclide composition found after analyzing gases from the cloud sweeping over Severodvinsk in the hours after the fatal accident on August 8th. According to information posted by Roshydromet, the researchers found a mixture of isotopes of barium, strontium and lanthanum and daughter nuclides. All are short-lived fission products. Norwegian nuclear safety expert Nils Bøhmer says the information removes any doubts. “The presence of decay products like barium and strontium is coming from a nuclear chain reaction. It is a proof that is was a nuclear reactor that exploded,” Bøhmer says. He explains that such mixture of short-lived isotopes would not have been found if it was simply an ‘isotope source’ in a propellant engine that exploded like Russian authorities first said.
Japan Says North Korea Developing Warheads to Penetrate Missile Defenses
Reuters
Pyongyang appears to be developing warheads to penetrate a ballistic missile shield defending Japan, the country’s defense chief said on Tuesday, pointing to the irregular trajectories of the latest missiles launched by North Korea. Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference that Japan believes the rockets were a new short-range ballistic missile, according to a ministry spokesman who confirmed his comments carried by domestic media. Recent short-range missile tests by Pyongyang have stoked alarm in neighboring Japan even as U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed the launches as unimportant. Saturday’s test firings came a day after Seoul said it was ending a military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, amid a worsening spat over wartime forced labor. Iwaya and other Japanese officials called Seoul’s decision “irrational” as the threat posed by North Korea grows.
Iran Seen Preparing for Space Launch
Geoff Brumfiel | NPR
In the latest indication that it may be readying an attempt to launch another space rocket, Iran has given its launch pad a fresh coat of paint. A satellite image taken by the commercial company Planet shows the pad painted a bright blue. The image, taken August 24, was shared with NPR. Until this month, the launch pad at the Imam Khomeini Space Center had been sporting a burn scar from a previous failed launch attempt. It had also been covered in debris from a possible flash flood at the site this past spring. “The Iranians have finished clearing off the pad, and they painted over the previous launch scar,” says Dave Schmerler, a senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies who has analyzed the imagery. Iran's press has reported that the government has three satellites that could be ready for launch by the end of the nation's calendar year in March of 2020. A recent report from August suggests that one of the satellites, a communications satellite known as Nahid-1, is ready for launch now.
Antonio Guterres Backs India’s Coveted NSG Membership
Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury | Economic Times
India has received a shot in arm for its civil nuclear program from the UN with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announcing support for Delhi’s Nuclear Supplier’s Group membership in his meeting with PM Narendra Modi. The PM, on his part, assured Guterres no step has been taken by New Delhi that in any manner threatens regional peace with the abrogation of Article 370. Modi informed Guterres that a stronger nuclear energy program in India will enable cleaner climate. India's proposed membership to NSG has been blocked by China which remains adamant on India's non-NPT signatory status.