TOP NEWS Groups threaten to sue over nuclear weapons work at US labs Associated Press North Korea names nuclear negotiator Wall Street Journal A new framework for thinking about regional NC3? Nautilus Institute United States Groups threaten to sue over nuclear weapons work at US labs Associated Press9/19/19 Nuclear watchdog groups say they will sue if the U.S. government doesn’t conduct a nationwide programmatic environmental review of its plans to expand production of key components for the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Middle East Sen. Rubio blames the Iran nuclear deal for leading to attack on Saudi oil facilities Fox News9/19/19 Rubio said that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, approved during the Obama administration, “allows” Iran to build the missiles and drones that were used in the attack and continue to sponsor terror groups that want to attack American troops. UN nuclear watchdog must approach Iran standoff with an even hand, says IAEA leadership candidate The National9/19/19 One of four contenders for the top job at the UN’s nuclear energy body, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, insisted that the organization must defend the credibility of the global nuclear rule book. East Asia North Korea welcomes ‘new method’ from U.S. in nuclear talks NBC News9/20/19 A North Korean diplomat welcomed that relations would be conducted “from a more practical point of view” after the departure of John Bolton. North Korea names nuclear negotiator Wall Street Journal9/20/19 North Korea named a veteran diplomat with extensive U.S. experience as its chief negotiator for working-level talks with Washington, while praising President Trump for dismissing national security adviser John Bolton. More international cooperation called key to curbing North Korea’s sanction evasion Voice of America9/19/19 Increased international cooperation is essential for curtailing the ship-to-ship transfers that Pyongyang continues to use to evade sanctions, said a former United Nations panel expert on North Korean sanctions enforcement. A top defector says the U.S. must levy tougher sanctions on North Korea to prevent a new nuclear state TIME9/20/19 The U.S. needs to wake up to the reality that its policy on North Korea is not working and quickly impose harsher sanctions if the world is going to avert the birth of a new nuclear state, a former North Korean diplomat says. South Asia Why Indians and Pakistanis want a war Foreign Policy9/19/19 Most South Asians are too young to have experienced the horrors of the conflicts fought in the region. That’s one reason why they’re quick to clamor for one. Commentary/Opinion/Analysis How Iran would unleash an ‘all out war’: lots of missiles National InterestKyle Mizokami 9/19/19 Iran’s interest in ballistic missiles has its origins in the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq War. Imagine if Obama had done this The AtlanticUri Friedman 9/19/19 A Republican crack-up on foreign policy could be coming over Iran in a way it hasn’t yet, incredibly enough, over the president’s approach to Afghanistan, Hong Kong, NATO, North Korea, or Russia, and beyond. Who is Robert O’Brien, Trump’s new national security adviser? And what has he walked into? NBC NewsDavid A. Andelman 9/19/19 A clone in many respects of his predecessor John Bolton, new adviser Robert O’Brien is an on-again, off-again diplomat who won Trump’s trust as a hostage negotiator. A new framework for thinking about regional NC3? Nautilus InstituteVipin Narang 9/19/19 The delegative/assertive binary is conceptually important but has hamstrung our thinking of especially regional powers’ NC3 by forcing them into one bin or another when it is in fact a time-dependent spectrum: all states delegate—that is, cede the ability to use nuclear weapons, irrespective of the authority to do so—at some point.