- The United States leads passage of additional U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran.
- Brazil and Turkey strike deal with Iran for fueling Tehran Research Reactor.
- IAEA releases new report critical of Iran's cooperation over its uranium enrichment program.
- Dispute over Iran's nuclear program mars the start of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.
- Iranian-Russian relations strained but Moscow says Bushehr should be operational by August.
Analysis
SNAP ANALYSIS – Can Middle East WMD-free zone talks happen?
“The decision to convene a conference in two years time to move towards a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction is a major achievement, after 15 years of inaction,”
BASIC Progam Director Anne Penketh quoted by Reuters.
Read the full article: http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-48899220100529
May 2010
May has been an intense and hectic month for BASIC and for nuclear diplomacy. The month-long global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference (NPT RevCon) in New York draws to a close today.
Nuke Conference Achieves Deal; US May Backtrack on Mideast Conference
“The Review Conference snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.” said BASIC Program Director Anne Penketh, quoted in The Huffington Post.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evelyn-leopold/dispute-over-israeli-arms_b_592898.html
NPT Review Conference ends with adoption of consensus Final Document
There was a rare and powerful burst of euphoria at the UN on the final day of the NPT Review Conference, when the representatives of about 180 states agreed on a final document without a vote.
Recycled leaders like Hague and IDS are better second time around
Yesterday’s announcement that the government would stick to a limit of 225 nuclear warheads has been rightly welcomed by BASIC (the British American Security Information Council) as a next step in transparency and disarmament.
Mary Riddell references BASIC in her commentary. Read more:
British last-minute contribution to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference
The new British government\’s announcement today of a total limit of 225 nuclear warheads is to be welcomed as a next step in the transparency and disarmament process, said Paul Ingram, Executive Director of the British American Security Information Council (BASIC).
NPT Review Conference president moves towards the endgame
Day 17: The NPT Review Conference president, Libran Cabactulan, has moved towards the endgame by submitting a draft final document which contains both a treaty review and a forward-looking action plan covering all three pillars of the treaty (disarmament, non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy).