There is a certain fatalism surrounding Iran’s presidential election this Friday, June 14th, with many people having lost interest because of the limited field of candidates (eight) being allowed to stand. This is coupled with soaring unemployment and inflation in the Islamic Republic, caused by mismanagement and encroaching economic sanctions from the Western countries over its nuclear program. Many of the country’s young people, who constitute a very large proportion of the electorate, are disheartened by the diplomatic damage to Iran’s international reputation, and the economic hardship that is impacting on their everyday lives.
Analysis
IAEA Board of Governors meeting and Iran
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors will meet this week, starting today in Vienna, and Iran’s nuclear program will be on the agenda. The May 22ndIAEA report concluded that little has changed since previous assessments of the nuclear program – with Iran continuing to enrich nuclear fuel and Tehran and the Agency at loggerheads over what is necessary to show that all of Iran’s nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes.
Russia and the US: realising nuclear disarmament and building trust
According to the most recent estimate by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), the world's combined stockpile of nuclear warheads stands at more than 17,000. The US and Russia have over 93% of the world's nuclear weapons, with about 1,800 on high alert, ready to unleash their devastating explosive power against each other at short notice.
Getting to Zero: Further Reading
Earlier Detailed Proposals for Nuclear Disarmament
- Report of the Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction, Weapons of Terror: Freeing the World of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Arms, (“Blix Report”), June 2006
- Japan Institute of International Affairs, the Hiroshima Peace Institute and the Japanese Government, Report of the Tokyo Forum on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, 1999
- Committee on International Security and Arms Control, National Academy of Sciences,
Getting to Zero Timeline: 2007
December 20, 2007: U.S. Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation, Christopher Ford, spoke at the UK Foreign Office Wilton Park conference about the goal of zero nuclear weapons:
Getting to Zero Timeline: 2008
“Getting to Zero” 2008 Timeline
Getting to Zero Timeline: 2009
December 2009: International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND) publishes final report: Eliminating Nuclear Weapons: A Practical Agenda for Global Policymakers, Gareth Evans and Yoriko Kawaguchi, Co-Chairs, International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.
Getting to Zero Timeline: 2010
December 22, 2010: U.S. Senate approves New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).
May 28, 2010: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference 2010 adopts consensus Final Document (PDF), available online via Reaching Critical Will