“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw
Apr 15, 2025
(See “Axios” article below for description and photo credits ~llaw
LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW
In My Opinion:
First of all you might be wondering: Who is Steve Witkoff? He is a “friend” of Trump’s who is now somehow the chief U.S. representative in the so-called Iran/USA nuclear talks. In case you don’t know, here is a brief background excerpt from “Wikipedia”: OMG!
Steven Charles Witkoff is an American real estate investor, lawyer, and diplomat who serves as the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is the founder and chairman of the Witkoff Group. He began his career as a real estate attorney, before transitioning to property investment and development. ~Wikipedia
Does the left hand have any idea what the right hand is doing in Trump’s White House? We have a Real Estate lawyer negotiating with Iran over the strength of Uranium fuel — whether it’s far enough below military grade or not, but Trump says they can’t be producing nuclear fuel at all to satisfy the proposed nuclear agreement. Evidently the next meeting/talks are supposed to be in Rome this coming Saturday, but maybe somewhere else. llolloll!
And so the confusion, stupidity, and ignorance continues on . . . I do know it’s not funny, but it is ridiculous. ~llaw
Tuesday, April 15 – 5 hours ago –World
Scoop: Trump holds situation room meeting on Iran nuclear deal negotiations
President Trump held a meeting on Tuesday morning in the White House situation room about the ongoing nuclear deal negotiations with Iran, two sources with direct knowledge told Axios.
Why it matters: The high-level meeting with all of the Trump administration’s top national security and foreign policy officials present was focused on discussing the U.S. position in the next round of talks planned for Saturday, the sources said.
- Ahead of the meeting Trump spoke on the phone with the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq and discussed the Omani mediation between the U.S. and Iran.
- “The two leaders discussed ways to back these negotiations to achieve the desired outcomes,” the Omani state news agency said.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “emphasized to the Omani Sultan the need for Iran to end its nuclear program through negotiations.”
Behind the scenes: Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA director John Ratcliffe and other top officials participated in the situation room meeting on Tuesday.
- The meeting took place amid intense debate within the administration over the way forward in the negotiations and the compromises the U.S. should or shouldn’t make.
- Vance and Witkoff think diplomacy could lead to a nuclear deal and think the U.S. should be ready to make some compromises in order to get it.
- Other senior members of the administration, including Rubio and Waltz, are highly skeptical and support a maximalist approach to the negotiations.
Trump himself is sending mixed messages. He has said he wants a deal and thinks the nuclear crisis is solvable through diplomacy but has also threatened Iran with a military strike.
- The White House declined to comment on the meeting. Leavitt told reporters that “the maximum pressure campaign on Iran continues but the president made it clear he wants to see dialogue and discussion with Iran while making clear Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
Driving the news: On Monday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Iran has to move fast in the negotiations and stressed that Iran “might be tapping us along” in the nuclear talks.
- Trump threatened again to use military power against Iran. “If we have to do something very harsh we will do it,” he said.
- On Monday evening, Witkoff said in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News that the first round of talks with Iran last Saturday in Oman was positive.
Zoom in: Witkoff said the U.S. position is Iran would have to stop enriching uranium to the level of 20% and to the near weapons-grade level of 60%, but didn’t rule out that the Iranians would be able to continue enriching uranium to the level of 3.67% that is needed for a civilian nuclear energy program.
- Witkoff added that any nuclear deal would have to verify Iran’s enrichment levels and that it doesn’t build ballistic missiles that can deliver a nuclear weapon or build triggers that can detonate nuclear bombs.
Witkoff’s remarks were very different from what Waltz said in recent weeks about the need to dismantle the entire nuclear program.
- His remarks also contradicted what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his meeting with Trump last week about the need to fully dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, like what he claimed happened in Libya in 2003.
On Tuesday morning, Witkoff clarified his remarks and wrote on X that “any final arrangement must set a framework for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East — meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.”
The other side: Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday during a meeting with top government officials in Tehran that the first round of talks with the U.S. was “satisfactory.”
- Khamenei said he is “neither too optimistic nor too pessimistic” about the negotiations and stressed he is “very skeptical of the other party, but confident in our own capabilities.”
What to watch: The next round of talks between the U.S. and Iran on Saturday was supposed to take place in Rome.
- The U.S., Iran and the Italian government confirmed it and visas have been issued for the Iranian delegation.
- But on Monday evening the Iranian foreign ministry said the venue for the next round of talks has been moved back to Muscat. U.S. officials haven’t confirmed the change in location.
- Sources with knowledge of the issue said one of the reasons for moving the talks from Rome was that Vance is expected to be there over the weekend and the White House wanted to avoid the overlap.
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TODAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS DIGEST, Tuesday, (04/15/2025)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Witkoff in Apparent Reversal Says Iran Must Halt Nuclear Enrichment – WSJ
The Wall Street Journal
Trump Friend and ‘Envoy for Everything‘ Steve Witkoff Embarks on High-Wire Diplomacy … Buy Side is independent of The Wall Street Journal newsroom.
In Iran talks, Trump envoy stresses verification of nuclear program, omits demand for dismantlement
CNN
US envoy Steve Witkoff has said that moving forward, talks with Iran would be about verification of its nuclear program, stopping short of calling …
Trump holds situation room meeting on Iran nuclear deal negotiations – Axios
Axios
Why it matters: The high-level meeting with all … Witkoff’s remarks were very different from what Waltz said in recent weeks about the need to …
Nuclear Power
NEWS
DIU selects 8 ‘eligible’ companies for nuclear microreactors that could power US bases
Breaking Defense
Projecting power abroad demands ensuring power at home and this program aims to deliver that,” said DIU’s Andrew Higier.
New nuclear power could meet 10% of projected data center demand increase by 2035: Deloitte
Utility Dive
The April 9 analysis presumes robust deployments over the next 10 years enabled by design, manufacturing and project management innovations that …
U.S. and Iran hold talks over Iran’s nuclear energy program – YouTube
YouTube
For the first time in eight years, the U.S. and Iran held talks over the weekend centered on Iran’s nuclear energy program.
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
GLOBAL: Trio exploring potential for nuclear–powered emergency response vessels
Bunkerspot
Lloyd’s Register (LR) has announced that it will be working with the Australian ship design group Seatransport and Houston-based Deployable Energy .
Radiological protection and public health experts discuss ongoing work and future co-operation
Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
The meeting included a Sixth International Nuclear Emergency Exercise (INEX-6) topical session on the long-term recovery phase following 26 countries …
Could more nuclear power be part of Florida’s future energy portfolio?
Florida Phoenix
… emergencies. Past administrations have viewed nuclear power as a potential solution to ensure military base power grids remain operational and …
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Iran Gives Update on Nuclear Talks with U.S. – Newsweek
Newsweek
The U.S. and Iran have continued to exchange threats of war and boost their military readiness in recent weeks. While both sides expressed …
Would military strikes kill Iran’s nuclear programme? Probably not – Reuters
Reuters
Worse, an attack could prompt Iran to kick out United Nations nuclear … Nuclear Threat Initiative, a former U.S. intelligence analyst. “A ..
Averting Unconstrained Nuclear Risks with Russia – RealClearDefense
RealClearDefense
… nuclear threats. Beholden to ultranationalist backing for the war on Ukraine, Putin might be wary of cozying up to the U.S. on arms control. A …
Nuclear War
NEWS
Trump says Iran must give up dream of nuclear weapon or face harsh response | Reuters
Reuters
… nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran’s atomic facilities … Israel and Hamas at War · Japan · Middle East · Ukraine and Russia …
‘The US can start a war with Iran, but it will not get to finish it,’ warns former State Department …
CNN
… of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University Vali Nasr about the latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks.
In Iran talks, Trump envoy stresses verification of nuclear program, omits demand for dismantlement
CNN
After relinquishing its nuclear program, Libya descended into civil war following a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Qaddafi’s regid led to ..
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
Even small lakes can tell big earthquake stories in the Yellowstone region – USGS.gov
USGS.gov
… Yellowstone region. Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
Even Small Lakes Can Tell Big Earthquake Stories In The Yellowstone Region
National Parks Traveler
Editor’s note: Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.