Russia will hold its presidential election on Sunday and Vladimir Putin is expected to move from his current role as Prime Minister back to the presidential helm, for at least the next six years. Ahead of the election, he has ramped up the rhetoric on strengthening Russia’s strategic posture, and has posed Russia as still being the only true global counterweight to U.S. military power.
Programmes
IAEA in Iran as nuclear announcements escalate international concern
A team of IAEA inspectors is back in Iran this week, just after being there three weeks ago. Because of the rising tensions in the region, this is a critical visit and the outcome and written report to follow will shape international opinions of Iran’s nuclear program and its intentions.
The Obama Administration’s budget and nuclear weapons
Today, the Obama Administration will roll out the FY2013 federal budget and nuclear weapons watchers will be scanning through the details of the financial plans released for the Departments of Defense and Energy.
Iran Update: Number 156
• IAEA team holds talks with officials in Tehran; plans return visit
• EU agrees on oil embargo against Iran
• Sanctions recap– Obama signs freeze on Iranian government property in the United States
• Officials exchange visits in Israel and the United States
Getting to Zero Update
BASIC recently wrapped up a series of events in Cairo, including a joint press workshop with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization and an off-the-record seminar on the politics of regional nuclear proliferation.
BASIC in Cairo – Preparing for the 2012 conference
BASIC and the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs held a conference in Cairo on January 29th 2012 on “Preparing for the 2012 conference: towards a zone free of nuclear weapons and all other WMD in the Middle East.”
Iran, the IAEA, and the U.S. Presidential Race
The International Atomic Energy Agency has sent special representatives to Tehran. The senior team will be there to discuss with Iranian officials outstanding questions related to a possible military dimension in the country’s nuclear program.
New Sanctions Aimed at Averting Wider Conflict
BASIC's program director, Anne Penketh, was quoted by Barbara Slavin of IPS news agency in an article about new European sanctions against Iran and the consequential impact in Europe and in the Middle East.