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NUKEWARS
Iran nuclear deal parties stand by troubled accord amid US pressure
By Julia ZAPPEI
Vienna (AFP) Sept 1, 2020

China pushing to double nuclear warhead arsenal: Pentagon
Washington (AFP) Sept 1, 2020 - The Chinese military is pressing to double its 200-plus nuclear warheads within a decade with the ability to launch them aboard ballistic missiles by land, sea and air, the Pentagon said in a report Tuesday.

Aside from aiming for technological parity with the United States, the People's Liberation Army is also focused on conducting joint operations, to be able to deter or defeat any US effort to intervene on Taiwan's behalf, the report said.

It said that PLA has already matched or surpassed the US military in several areas, including shipbuilding, land-based ballistic and cruise missiles, and air defense systems.

And in its first public estimate of China's nuclear capacity, the annual report said the country has warheads numbering "in the low 200s" in its nuclear stockpile, fewer than the 300 or more estimated by independent analysts.

The report says that number is expected to double over 10 years. China can already launch nuclear weapons by ballistic missile from land and sea, and is developing the capacity to do develop an air-launched ballistic missile as well, the report said.

"It is likely that Beijing will seek to develop a military by mid-century that is equal to -- or in some cases superior to -- the US military, or that of any other great power that the PRC views as a threat," the report said.

If China achieves that goal and the United States fails to address it, the report said, it "will have serious implications for US national interests and the security of the international rules-based order."

A Pentagon official said that although China remains far behind the United States in terms of nuclear warheads, the acceleration shows Beijing moving from its traditional "minimum deterrence posture" to full-fledged competition.

"Combined with a near-complete lack of transparency regarding their strategic intent and the perceived need for a much larger, more diverse nuclear force, these developments pose a significant concern for the United States," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Chad Sbragia.

He said the military expansion is part of China's overall strategy for a sweeping modernization and to establish itself as a leading global power by 2049.

China has made clear it sees the United States as seeking to maintain military supremacy globally, and says Washington, with military bases on the western Pacific rim and a potent naval presence throughout the region, is the source of tensions in Asia.

The report noted that China already has the world's largest navy, with 350 ships and submarines, compared to 293 for the US Navy.

The Pentagon has highlighted that deficit as it seeks to expand its fleet to 355 vessels.

The report also highlights China's advantage, unrestricted by arms agreements that the US and Russia have, in ground-launched ballistic missiles.

However, the United States leads in submarine-launched and air-launched ballistic missiles; China is still working to develop the latter.

The report described China as determined to project its power eastward into the Pacific beyond Taiwan, and to pressure the United States out of the region.

The report said that as China seeks to bring Washington-ally Taiwan under its control, Beijing is seeking the ability to win a possible war with the US over the island.

The signatories to the Iran nuclear deal said Tuesday that they stood by the faltering accord, opposing US efforts to restore international sanctions on the Islamic republic.

Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia are struggling to save the landmark 2015 accord with Iran, which has been progressively stepping up its nuclear activities since the United States pulled out of the deal in 2018.

Tehran insists it is entitled to do so under the terms of the accord -- which swapped sanctions relief for Iran's agreement to scale back its nuclear programme -- following Washington's withdrawal and reimposition of sanctions.

EU senior official Helga Schmid, who chaired the talks in Vienna on Tuesday, wrote on Twitter that the meeting's participants were "united in resolve to preserve the #IranDeal and find a way to ensure full implementation of the agreement despite current challenges".

In a later statement, she added that all parties reiterated that "the US cannot initiate the process of reinstating UN sanctions" by drawing on a United Nations resolution enshrining the nuclear accord, which they have left.

Representatives from Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran and Russia all attended the talks -- part of a regular series of gatherings to discuss the accord, which have been increasingly tense since the US pullout began unravelling the agreement.

- 'Mockery' -

China's representative, senior Foreign Ministry official Fu Cong, told reporters after the meeting that Iran needed to come back to full compliance, but at the same time "the economic benefit that is due to Iran needs to be provided".

He slammed the US for "making a mockery of international law" in its "attempt to sabotage and to kill the JCPOA", referring to the abbreviation of the deal's formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov was also quoted by Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying participants were united in their "general, unanimous lack of recognition" of Washington's move.

The United Nations last week blocked the US bid to reimpose international sanctions on Iran, while Washington also failed to rally enough support to extend an arms embargo on Iran that is scheduled to start being rolled back from October.

In a boost to Tuesday's talks, the Iranian atomic energy agency last week also agreed to allow inspectors of the UN nuclear watchdog to visit two sites suspected of having hosted undeclared activity in the early 2000s.

Schmid said meeting participants "welcomed" the agreement reached during International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi's first trip to Iran after months of calling for access.

- US 'isolated' -

Mark Fitzpatrick, an associate fellow of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), told AFP ahead of the talks that the agreement on access kept "Iran generally in line with the rest of the world, against an isolated United States".

But Fitzpatrick pointed out that "Iran's nuclear activities remain of deep concern to those states that are dedicated to non-proliferation".

Iran reportedly recently transferred advanced centrifuges used to enrich uranium from a pilot facility into a new hall at its main Natanz nuclear fuel plant, which was hit by sabotage in July.

When asked about this by AFP, Iran's representative at the talks, deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, said details regarding this had been given to the IAEA, declining to comment further.

"We are completely transparent in our nuclear programme. The agency has been always informed and is informed now about every detail of our programme, every movement in our equipment," he said.

An IAEA assessment published in June said Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium was almost eight times the limit fixed in the accord.

The level of enrichment is still far below what would be needed for a nuclear weapon, and Iran has insisted it can reverse the steps it has taken since last year -- if it can again benefit economically again under the deal.

The IAEA, which regular updates its members on Iran's nuclear activities, is expected to issue a fresh report ahead of a meeting of member states to discuss the dossier later this month.


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NUKEWARS
Iran nuclear deal parties meet amid US pressure
Vienna (AFP) Sept 1, 2020
The signatories to the faltering Iran nuclear deal meet in Vienna on Tuesday as the US is urging international sanctions on the Islamic republic to be reimposed and an arms embargo to be extended. Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia are struggling to save the 2015 landmark accord with Iran, which has been progressively stepping up its nuclear activities since last year. Tehran insists it is entitled to do so under the deal - which swapped sanctions relief for Iran's agreement to scale ba ... read more

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