A study co-authored by Dr. Jim Walsh of the Center for International Studies finds that sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear-missile program are ineffective, writes Alastair Gale for The Wall Street Journal. The researchers found that “North Korea has grown resistant to sanctions by building up its business operations inside China.”
In an article for Popular Science, Ryan Mandelbaum writes that a new method to detect nuclear weapons, developed by Prof. R. Scott Kemp and colleagues, could one day help countries achieve disarmanent. "Countries are trying to disarm," explains Mandelbaum, "but the weapons inspectors' existing detection methods... aren't great."
Science magazine’s Ben Panko describes a new technique developed by Prof. R. Scott Kemp and colleagues that "nuclear inspectors can use to verify whether a warhead is active, inactive, or a fake—all without learning anything about its design." Panko refers to the method as "a kind of physical encryption that allows warhead scanning without revealing too much."
Fred Thys reports for WBUR that the MIT connection shared by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, likely had a positive impact on the nuclear negotiations. “Salehi and Moniz likely bonded over their shared connection to MIT — and ultimately, the pair were able to help forge a historic deal,” Thys explains.
Boston Globe Magazine reporter Neil Swidey profiles Prof. Emeritus Ernest Moniz, the Secretary of Energy, chronicling his childhood in Fall River, his time at MIT, and his current role in the Iran nuclear deal. “He’s one of the best prepared energy secretaries we’ve ever had,” says Bill Richardson, a former US energy secretary.
AP reporter Josh Lederman highlights the role Prof. Emeritus Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, played in negotiating the Iran nuclear deal. Lederman writes that by all accounts Moniz played a “pivotal role in reaching the historic nuclear accord.”
John Tirman, executive director of the Center for International Studies, writes for The Huffington Post about the negotiations behind the Iran nuclear deal. Tirman draws parallels between the successful negotiations with Iran and the political circumstances that brought about the end of the Cold War.