Pompeo Declares ‘Productive Week’ on Iran as Rouhani Dismisses U.S.-Iran Talks
Nicole Gaouette and Jennifer Hansler | CNN
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States had “a productive week” of discussion with allies on Iran and suggested the US remained open to negotiations with the nation, despite Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hours earlier squashing any prospects of a meeting with his US counterpart. Rouhani declared that negotiations can't take place until sanctions are lifted -- a step the US not only refuses to take, but doubled down on earlier in the day by announcing new penalties. “On behalf of my nation and state, I would like to announce that our response to any negotiation under sanctions is negative,” Rouhani said Wednesday in his address to the United Nations General Assembly. Shortly after Pompeo voiced the US desire for peace, the White House announced sweeping visa restrictions on senior Iranian officials and their immediate families. Rouhani laid out his conditions not long after Pompeo announced new Iran-related sanctions on Chinese companies transporting oil from Iran and their executive officers. The Treasury Department said in a release that based on a determination by Pompeo it would sanction COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. and COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management Co., along with a few other companies and a slew of individuals.
Russia's Proposed Moratorium on Missile Deployment, ‘Not a Credible Offer,’ Says NATO
TASS
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has received a proposal from the Russian government to introduce a moratorium on deploying intermediate-and shorter-range missiles in Europe and other regions, however, NATO does not consider it “a credible offer,” NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu told TASS on Wednesday. “We can confirm that the NATO Secretary General has received a letter from the Russian authorities,” she said, adding that the proposal is impossible to implement. “As regards to a moratorium, we have heard this proposal before, but this is not a credible offer, as it disregards the reality on the ground: Russia has already deployed the SSC-8 (missile also known as 9M729 - TASS), in violation of the INF Treaty. Unless and until Russia verifiably destroys the SSC-8 system, this moratorium on deployments is not a real offer,” the spokesperson stated. Earlier, the Kommersant daily informed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had sent a proposal to the leaders of several countries, including NATO member states, to introduce a moratorium on deploying intermediate-and shorter-range missiles in Europe and other regions.
Modi Rues India's Omission From Nuclear Group in China Swipe
Rajesh Kumar Singh and Ashutosh Joshi | Bloomberg
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tempered hopes that the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide will move quickly to reduce the use of coal, in part blaming the country’s exclusion from a global uranium suppliers group. “Because India is not a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, we don’t have assured supply of the fuel,” he said at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York on Wednesday. “If we get a solution to this, we can create a new model for the world.” China has kept India out of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, which controls the export of nuclear materials. The leader of the world’s second most-populous country declined to commit to a reduction in coal usage, which both he and his predecessors have said is essential to ensure electricity to millions of its citizens.
Satellite Images Suggest North Korea Working to Hide Launch of Missile Submarine
Jamie Crawford and Zachary Cohen | CNN
North Korea may be close to launching a submarine capable of firing missiles and is making efforts to conceal its preparations, new commercial satellite images obtained by CNN appear to show. The images from the Middlebury Institute and Planet Labs, appear to show North Korea making progress readying the vessel at the Sinpo South Naval Shipyard along the central coast of the country off the Sea of Japan. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the base in July to inspect progress on the submarine, which may already be operational, according to analysts. “North Korea has erected a structure in the secure boat basin to hide the new submarine,” said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute. “This suggests that the submarine has been launched or will be soon.” The United States assessed that the photos of Kim's visit released by KCNA in July likely showed a refurbished submarine that Washington had been aware of for more than a year, according to a senior US official with direct knowledge of the assessment.
Nuclear Warhead Programs Need $850m Fix. Here’s How the Government Plans to Cover it.
Aaron Mehta | Defense News
Issues with commercial parts on two nuclear warhead modernization projects could cost up to $850 million to fix, but the agency in charge of America’s warheads believes it might be able to fund that work adding significantly to program bottom lines. Speaking at a House Armed Services Committee strategic forces subcommittee hearing Wednesday, Charles Verdon, deputy administrator for defense programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration, said that the costs associated with replacing commercial parts on the B61-12 and W88 Alt 370 warhead programs could potentially be recouped by savings found in future modernization activities. The issue, first revealed by Verdon during the Sept. 4 Defense News Conference, would put both warhead modernization programs at an 18-20 month delay of their first production units, although NNSA is hopeful that it will not have significant delays on the overall program timelines.
No AI for Nuclear Command & Control: JAIC's Shanahan
Sydney Freedberg Jr. | Breaking Defense
“You will find no stronger proponent of integration of AI capabilities writ large into the Department of Defense,” Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan said here, “but there is one area where I pause, and it has to do with nuclear command and control.”A recent article on the iconoclastic website War on the Rocks argued “America Needs A ‘Dead Hand’,” a reference to the Soviet system designed to automatically order a nuclear launch if the human leadership was wiped out. “I read that,” Shanahan told the Kalaris Intelligence Conference here this afternoon. “My immediate answer is ‘No. We do not.’”