In case you need a map of many Indian nuclear facilities (and who doesn’t?), click on “this handy map”:http://www.dae.nic.in/?q=node/9 from India’s DAE.

More regular blogging anticipated for the near future.

I’m sure I’m late to the party here, but OSD’s “Nuclear Matters Handbook”:http://www.acq.osd.mil/ncbdp/nm/nm_book_5_11/index.htm looks to be a pretty nice resource.

bq. The Nuclear Matters Handbook is an expanded and revised version of the earlier Nuclear Matters: A Practical Guide. Originally published in 1991 for the use of Action Officers associated with the Nuclear Weapons Council, previous editions have been modified over time to meet the needs of the larger U.S. nuclear community as well as those outside the community who seek a better understanding of the subject area. Since the early 1990s, the U.S. nuclear program has evolved significantly as a result of unilateral and bilateral arms reductions, the end of underground nuclear testing in the United States, and in response to the growing threats of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism.

If you want a collection of documents related to US-India nuclear cooperation, India’s DAE has “one.”:http://www.dae.nic.in/?q=node/53 The list is below.

bq.. Statement by India at IAEA Board of Governors Meeting on 1st August 2008

Text of the draft of India-IAEA Safeguards Agreement

Statement made in parliament by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Indo-US Civil Nuclear co-operation Agreement – 13-Aug-2007

Co-operation Agreement between India and USA on Peaceful uses of Nuclear Energy (03-Aug-2007)

Excerpts from Prime Minister’s Reply to Discussion in Rajya Sabha on Civil Nuclear Energy Co-operation with the United States on August 17, 2006

PM’s Suo-Motu Statement in Parliament on Discussions on Civil Nuclear Energy Co-operation with the US: India’s Separation Plan – 07-Mar-2006

INDIA-USA JOINT STATEMENT on Indo US Civil Nuclear Co-operation 2-Mar-2006

Implementation of India – United States July 18, 2005 Joint Statement on Civil Nuclear Co-operation – India’s Separation Plan

Suo-motu Statement by the PM on Civil Nuclear Energy Co-operation with the United States 27-Feb-2006

Joint Statement on India-USA Civil Nuclear Co-operation 18-July-2005

This is one of a few forthcoming housekeeping posts.

ISIS “has”:http://www.isisnucleariran.org/assets/pdf/IAEA_Iran_resolution_13Sept2012.jpg the Sept 13 IAEA BoG resolution in case you were looking for it. I was.

I’ve never been to an IAEA Board meeting, but I envision it as being kind of like this:

As I “said,”:http://www.totalwonkerr.net/2244/back-from-hiatus I am back.

First is “this useful thing”:http://www.timeanddate.com/date/ I found on the internet. It’s good for things like estimating the daily rate of Iranian LEU production.

Sounds silly, but it is a bit of a time-saver.

Apologies for the 2-month + absence; it’s been far too long.

Anyway, blogging to resume soon.

The anniversary is next month, but whatever…

bq. Simply stated, there is *no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.* There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us. And there is no doubt that his aggressive regional ambitions will lead him into future confrontations with his neighbors — confrontations that will involve both the weapons he has today, and the ones he will continue to develop with his oil wealth.

— “August 26, 2002”:http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020826.html

bq. On the nuclear question, many of us are convinced that *Saddam will acquire such weapons fairly soon*. Just how soon, we cannot really judge. Intelligence is at best an uncertain business, even under the best circumstances. This is especially the case when you are dealing with a totalitarian government that has made a science out of deceiving the international community.

— “August 29, 2002.”:http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020829-5.html

“J Lewis”:http://lewis.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/5493/iran-mil-power-report and “G Thielmann”:http://armscontrolnow.org/2012/07/11/reading-the-iran-military-report-carefully-and-between-the-lines/ have already commented on the “2012 DIA report”:http://www.fas.org/man/eprint/dod-iran.pdf about Iran. But I thought I’d point out what it said about the IAEA DG’s November 2011 “report”:http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Board/2011/gov2011-65.pdf.

Much has, of course, been written about that report, but the DIA’s take isn’t terribly alarming:

bq. [The report] provided extensive evidence of past and *possibly ongoing* Iranian nuclear weapons-related research and development work.

That’s consistent with what the intel community has been saying.

I blogged the report “the other day,”:http://www.totalwonkerr.net/2233/un-panel-of-experts-report-on-iran but didn’t say anything about it.

A couple of things jumped out at me. One is the extensive discussion about “the role of carbon fibre in the Iranian nuclear programme and as a target for procurement.” The information about the general use of carbon fiber in centrifuges, as well as its particular role in Iran’s program, can be found elsewhere, but it’s nice to have it in an official UN document.

The second item is the discussion of Iran’s attempts to procure uranium – a substance the country does not have in abundance. According to the report, “Iran is believed by a number of Member States to be seeking new sources of uranium ore to supply its enrichment efforts,” adding that “Member States have informed the Panel that emerging suppliers are potential targets for attempted acquisition” of uranium by Iran.

The report does say that “no procurement attempts have been reported
to the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1737 (2006)” and that “the Panel is not aware of any confirmed cases of actual transfers.”

Out of town for a little more than a week, so read something else.

A bit late to the party on this one, but a few days ago Fars News “published”:http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9103085486 “the full text of a power point file presented by the Iranian team of negotiators to the representatives of the world powers in the recent talks in the Russian capital, Moscow, on June 19-20.”

I haven’t seen anyone mention this, but, if accurate, the presentation is also an account of the P5+1 offer. Iran’s explanation regarding the right to enrichment under the NPT is also worth examining.

*Update:* I should have mentioned that Laura Rozen “published”:http://backchannel.al-monitor.com/index.php/2012/07/iran-seeks-sustained-dialogue/ a “copy”:http://backchannel.al-monitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/IranNuclearTalks.pdf of a similar presentation given July 3 by Iran’s Mission to the UN.