NK Missile Launch: Clinton Expects ‘Appropriate Action’ From Security Council

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the U.S. will push for “appropriate action” by the U.N. Security Council should North Korea launch a long-range rocket, but the last time Pyongyang defied the world body in this way, the council struggled to come up with a strong response.

You Can’t Stop What’s Coming

Dear Members and Friends,

The highly esteemed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which was formed in 1957 as a nuclear watchdog and reports directly to the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, released its much anticipated and overdue report this week on the current status and progress of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear programs.  

US Lauds Japan for New Iran Sanctions

The United States praised Japan Friday for imposing new sanctions on Iran that include an asset freeze and tighter restrictions on financial transactions, part of a global response to Tehran’s contested nuclear program.

“The United States welcomes the announcement by Japan of new sanctions on Iran that implement UN Security Council 1929,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said in a joint statement.

“They mark a significant step forward in the international community’s efforts to combat proliferation and prevent Iran’ development of nuclear weapons,” they said.

US Seeks UN Vote on Iran Sanctions by June 21

State Department officials are pushing for the UN to vote on Iranian sanctions before the end of June. A restricted report released Monday said that Iran was moving forward with their nuclear program. This report and others lends credence to the need for more sanctions on top of the ones already stacked against Iran.

WASHINGTON — The United States said Thursday it hopes for a UN Security Council vote by June 21 on tough new sanctions against Iran over what it calls its continued failure to curb its nuclear ambitions.

“We are going to put forward this resolution in the coming days. And we expect all responsible members of the international community… to support the resolution,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

U.N. Chief Seeks to Strengthen Nuclear Pact

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced on Wednesday that he is calling for disarmament and for the Middle East to be free of nuclear weapons.  This announcement comes because of the recent international treaty which will be discussed Monday at an international conference.

With the international treaty seeking to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons already wobbly, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday called for it to be buttressed with renewed commitments toward disarmament and for tackling the knotty issue of a Middle East free of nuclear weapons.

U.S. Wants Sanctions In Weeks as Iran Ups Enrichment

Natanz - Iran's Underground Uranium Development Site

Iran continues to enrich uranium in blatant defiance of the U.N. Security Council. The Iranian government has said that they will be stepping up their uranium enrichment levels from 3.5%  to 20%. This is worrisome because although it takes 90% purity to make a nuclear bomb, the low-level enrichment of nuclear materials is the most time-consuming and difficult step in the process. 20% enrichment would mean that the Iranians are that much closer to possessing weapons grade nuclear material.

The Pentagon said on Tuesday that the United States wanted a U.N. Security Council resolution “within weeks” to tackle Iran’s nuclear program as Iran said it had begun making higher-grade nuclear fuel.

The Islamic Republic, which denies its program has military aims, announced on Sunday it would produce uranium enriched to a level of 20 percent for a Tehran research reactor making medical isotopes for cancer patients.

This followed a failure to agree terms for a proposed nuclear swap with major powers, under which Iran would send most of its low-enriched uranium abroad in return for such fuel.