Eye On Iran: Crackdown Sought on Nuclear Material

For continuing coverage follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group. Top Stories WSJ: "A proposed communiqué calls for leaders from more than 40 countries to endorse a global crackdown on the illicit trade of nuclear material at a summit in Washington next week. The communiqué, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, calls for tougher criminal prosecution of traffickers, better accounting for weapons-grade nuclear materials and more international collaboration in such cases." http://bit.ly/97YAio AP: "Iran's hard-line president on Wednesday ridiculed President Barack Obama's new nuclear strategy, which turns the U.S. focus away from the Cold War threats and instead aims to stop the spread of atomic weapons to rogue states or terrorists." http://nyti.ms/aS5Mvx AP: "A top Iranian official says a nuclear fuel swap with the West, initially proposed under a U.N.-drafted plan, is still on the table. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has told reporters that Iran is showing flexibility how to effect an exchange of its low enriched uranium for higher enriched nuclear fuel if the West is ready for a deal." http://nyti.ms/bLpB2j Nuclear Program NYT: "You can almost feel the waves of wishful thinking emanating from Washington these days that China, after refusing for years, will finally agree to U.N.-approved economic sanctions against Iran for its violations of obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty." http://nyti.ms/dvHb4N FT: "The Obama administration yesterday announced a doctrine to reduce US reliance on nuclear weapons, bolster the global non-proliferation regime and pave the way for Congressional ratification of an arms control deal with Russia. The policy renounces the use of nuclear weapons in deterring chemical and biological attacks, while retaining the option against states such as Iran and North Korea that do not comply with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty or associated agreements." http://bit.ly/dv2n64 Radio Farda: "Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, has welcomed the new U.S. nuclear strategy and said Iran 'should once again be ready to talk and transparently renounce any option of nuclear armament.' The United States' new nuclear-defense policy, announced on April 6, broke with the Bush administration in a pledge not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear countries as long as they are signatories of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. This does not include Iran and North Korea." http://bit.ly/bXswKt Human Rights AP: "The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 35 journalists are in prison in Iran after a nearly yearlong crackdown on the news media in the Middle Eastern country. The organization said Tuesday that an additional 18 journalists were free on short-term furloughs granted for the Iranian New Year and were expected to report back to prison." http://bit.ly/dkQDFZ Radio Farda: "The mother of Iranian journalist and human rights activist Abolfazl Abedini says he has been sentenced to 11 years in jail, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports. Abedini, a member of the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Activists in Iran, was arrested on March 3 in the southwestern city of Ahvaz after his home was raided. His family said he was beaten by members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps as he was taken away." http://bit.ly/c7J8Rj Opinion Clifford Bryan in Examiner: "The key point to ponder in regards to Iran on this subject is whether they are meeting their obligations. Based on what IAEA Chief Yukiya Amano Reported on Iran in March, they have not met safeguard and safety standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency was not able to verify non-diversion of Iran's nuclear materials. Amano also stated that Iran as of this date has not provided the necessary cooperation called for by the IAEA and United Nations Security Council." http://bit.ly/bEml7w Atul Aneja in The Hindu: "Iran's recent hyper-activism in neighbouring Afghanistan and Pakistan has caused consternation in large parts of the globe. In media circles, think tanks and world chanceries, highbrowed mandarins and their well-heeled affiliates are trying to make sense of the latest, seemingly inscrutable piece of the Persian puzzle. Yet Iran's deft moves in an area the Persians have known well for thousands of years originate from deeply deliberated and well-grounded fundamentals." http://bit.ly/cE2EvG News Analysis David Sanger and Thom Shanker in NYT: "At the heart of President Obama's new nuclear strategy lies a central gamble: that an aging, oversize, increasingly outmoded nuclear arsenal can be turned to the new purpose of adding leverage to the faltering effort to force Iran and North Korea to rethink the value of their nuclear programs." http://nyti.ms/9GVN6w Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons. UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.

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