TOP NEWS U.S. sanctions Iranian WMD proliferators U.S. Department of State Iran floats offer on nuclear inspections; U.S. skeptical Reuters What a failed Iran deal would mean for oil prices and military tensions CNBC U.S. Nuclear Policy U.S. sanctions Iranian WMD proliferators U.S. Department of State7/18/2019 the United States designated 12 entities and individuals based in Iran, Belgium, and China that are linked to the nuclear proliferation-sensitive activities of the Iran Centrifuge Technology Company – known by its Persian acronym, TESA. Middle East Iran floats offer on nuclear inspections; U.S. skeptical Reuters7/18/2019 Iran on Thursday signaled a willingness to engage in diplomacy to defuse tensions with the United States with a modest offer on its nuclear program that met immediate skepticism in Washington. Drone downing imperils Trump’s Iran outreach Politico7/18/2019 U.S. forces downed an Iranian drone that approached a Navy warship in the Middle East on Thursday, stoking fears that the two countries will fall into a military confrontation even as they both seek diplomatic openings with each other. Europe is left with few options to save the Iran nuclear deal Bloomberg7/18/2019 Europe’s efforts to save the JCPOA have been frustrated by Trump’s unpredictability, which has unsettled already fragile relationships with the Islamic Republic. Europe Europe has no attractive options in the post-INF world Defense One7/16/19 Soon to be back in the nuclear line of fire, Europeans wonder how to get arms control back on the international agenda. South Asia German Embassy puts forward project to translate CTBT and NPT into Sinhala and Tamil German Embassy Colombo7/16/19 Together with the Forum on Disarmament and Development (FDD) the German Embassy supports the project of translating the “Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty” (CTBT) and the “Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons” (NPT) into Sinhala and Tamil. Analysis/Commentary What a failed Iran deal would mean for oil prices and military tensions CNBCNatasha Turak 7/19/19 The direction of oil prices will depend on what Iran does with its nuclear program in the event of the deal’s termination, and whether Tehran’s strategy prompts a military response. Abandoning our nuclear arms treaties with Russia is a bad idea Chicago TribuneIvo Daalder 7/18/19 Abandoning long-standing agreements and conditioning any new negotiations on including China are ill-advised strategies for the Trump Administration. Can North Korea be deterred? Council on Foreign RelationsDuyeon Kim 7/17/19As North Korea’s military arsenal expands and becomes more sophisticated with the incorporation of new technologies, America’s toolkit and policy must also evolve.