WASHINGTON: Iran is at a crucial point in its nuclear negotiations with the United States and five other world powers. What it does on the diplomatic front and what it does with its disputed nuclear program are vacillating between the hardline and the conciliatory. This comes as the United States looks post-election for a fresh… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The United States and its allies would like to have a “face to face” meeting with Iranian officials before the end of the year, even as they struggle with just what to offer the Islamic Republic. Talks are going on now among the six countries negotiating with Iran – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The news reports over the weekend that an agreement had been reached for direct Iran-US talks over Iran’s alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons is one case where there is less than meets the eye. Even if the news does come on the eve of a crucial debate between US President Barack Obama and his… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Dov Zakheim and Roger Zakheim, the father-and-son team of national security advisors to the Romney campaign, fenced with skeptical reporters this morning about what their candidate would actually do differently from the Obama administration. The big things, in brief: boost Navy shipbuilding by 66 percent; slash the civil service workforce at the Defense Department;… Keep reading →

In the latest evidence that bad news for everyone else can often be good news for military contractors, defense investors are perking up as rumors spread that Israel might attack Iran’s nuclear complex in the Autumn. Any new Middle East war would give a boost to the stocks of military suppliers, while also making equities… Keep reading →

Iran has significantly increased the amount of uranium it is enriching at a level close to weapon-grade and is sanitizing a site where it is suspected of doing bomb-related experiments, according to a classified UN nuclear watchdog report released Thursday and obtained by Breaking Defense. Iran continues to block inspectors from the International Atomic Energy… Keep reading →

Breaking Defense commissioned this article from the CEO of the Truman National Security Project, Rachel Kleinfeld, to help prod both the GOP and Democrats into some vigorous and open discussion about national security issues. You may hate the ideas expressed here or love them, but we think you’ll react to them — which is the… Keep reading →

UPDATED: Iran Nuclear Talks Continue Softly, Softly While Hopes Fade (July 24 18:21 EDT) Talks on the Iranian nuclear program continued at a low level Tuesday, even as prospects for a peaceful outcome grow increasingly grim. Senior-level, US-led negotiations to win guarantees that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons have foundered. Meanwhile, there are disturbing… Keep reading →

Talks with Iran on its nuclear work have continued but little progress has been made. A diplomat close to the lower-level meeting of technical experts in Istanbul last Tuesday told me “a large gap” remains between the positions of Iran and the six nations negotiating with it – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany… Keep reading →

A full monty of sanctions has gone into effect against Iran, the toughest regime of punitive measures since the Iranian nuclear crisis began a decade ago. The goal is to pressure the Islamic Republic to give the international community guarantees it will not make atomic weapons. A European Union embargo on buying Iranian oil became… Keep reading →