TOP NEWS Trump officials considering ending Iran waivers for civilian nuclear work: report The Hill Pompeo rejects North Korean charges on military drills Reuters Yukiya Amano, Head of the I.A.E.A. Nuclear Watchdog Group, Dies at 72 New York Times Iran overtures are the latest setback for Bolton Foreign Policy Middle East Trump officials considering ending Iran waivers for civilian nuclear work: report The Hill7/20/19 The Trump administration is reportedly mulling ending waivers that allow Iran to run a civilian nuclear program with international help, a move that could further undermine the Obama-era nuclear deal. Pompeo denies Iran claims it broke up U.S. ‘spy ring’ Washington Post7/22/19 Iran said Monday it had arrested 17 Iranians for alleged spying for the CIA on the country’s military and nuclear sites. Iranian cyber activity “spiked” after U.S. withdrawal from nuclear deal, says Microsoft official CBS News7/19/19 Cyber activity originating in Iran and targeting entities across the United States “spiked” after the Trump administration announced its withdrawal from the nuclear deal last May. East Asia Pompeo rejects North Korean charges on military drills Reuters7/19/19 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejects charges from North Korea’s Foreign Ministry that U.S. plans for military exercises with South Korea are in breach of agreements between North Korea and the U.S. North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site: No change in status 38 North7/19/19 Commercial satellite imagery from early July indicates that, while the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site has not been abandoned, there is no activity around the test tunnels (portals) or Command Center. China calls on U.S. to ‘correct’ Iran sanctions Associated Press7/19/19 China urged Washington on Friday to “correct” sanctions imposed on Chinese companies accused of helping Iran acquire materials for its nuclear program. Multilateral Arms Control Yukiya Amano, Head of the I.A.E.A. Nuclear Watchdog Group, Dies at 72 New York Times7/22/19 The advocate for nuclear nonproliferation who played a key role in monitoring Iran’s compliance with the landmark 2015 nuclear deal as the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has died. Analysis/Commentary Iran overtures are the latest setback for Bolton Foreign PolicyElias Groll 7/19/19 Trump’s hawkish national security advisor may be losing credibility fast as the president pushes diplomacy, observers say. Democrats want to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal. It’s not that simple PoliticoNahal Toosi 7/20/19 Most of the Democrats running for president have promised to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal if they win the Oval Office, but even if Trump loses, political and logistical hurdles could make it impossible to rejoin the JCPOA. Clock’s ticking on one of world’s most important nuclear treaties. A dangerous arms race may be next CNNEliza Mackintosh 7/20/19 The unraveling of existing accords under the Trump administration could lead to a more unstable future for nuclear proliferation globally. Special Interest Nuclear command, control, and communications systems of the People’s Republic of China Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability7/18/19 Fiona Cunningham describes the origins of China’s NC3 system and its primary role in supporting China’s land-based missile force. What the smuggled archive tells us about Iran’s nuclear weapon’s project Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies7/22/19 Information revealed by the smuggling out by the Israelis of Iran’s nuclear weapons program archive belies Tehran’s oft-expressed claim that its nuclear program was always for peaceful use and shows the hollowness of the nuclear agreement.