Olli Heinonen

Published by Springer

April 2, 2013

Assessment of the Nuclear Programs of Iran and North Korea: Foreword

Book Chapter

By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

During the last two decades, there have been successes but also disappointments in fighting against nuclear proliferation. On the positive side, we witnessed the dismantlement of nuclear weapons programs in South Africa, Iraq, and Libya.

May 22, 2012

"The Verification of the Peaceful Nature of Iran's Nuclear Program"

Book Chapter

By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

In this chapter, Olli Heinonen examines a decade of actions taken by Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Heinonen suggests a number of measures Iran might take to provide assurance to the international community that it is not developing nuclear weapons.  He writes: In tandem with the continued search for a negotiated political solution between the P5+1 and Iran, the IAEA should continue to press for commitments that would provide the best assurances on that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful. This means that the verification process will have to be comprehensive and expansive. What this also means is that the current stage of unsatisfactory cooperation and approach by Iran to the IAEA needs to change. Given the past experiences, if Iran takes the opportunity of widening those with the following measures, the IAEA will be in a position to provide assurances about the scope of Iran’s nuclear program.

AP Images

January 22, 2013

"The Middle Eastern Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone (WMDFZ)- Nuclear Verification"

Conference Paper

By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Christian Charlier

The establishment of a WMDFZ in the Middle East is a real challenge for the international community taking into consideration the absence of favorable conditions such as the mutual states recognitions as political entities with established diplomatic relations, and stability. To start with, there is no one single model for existing Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (NWFZ). Each existing NWFZ treaty had introduced elements, including creative legal arrangements, and unique features depending on the specificities of each zone. The current treaties of the South Pacific NWFZ, the Southeast Asian NWFZ, the African NWFZ, the Latin American NWFZ, and the Central Asian NWFZ, can be studied and applied where relevant. So, too, there exist organizations responsible for the verification of these treaties (IAEA, OPCW, CTBTO). The case of the Middle East will be more complex since the treaty is envisioned to cover all weapons of mass destruction including biological and chemical as well as their delivery vehicles. A large number of political, historical, technical, and verification issues need to be factored into the Treaty. In other words, working on a WMDFZ means the necessity to deal with all WMD aspects together. Progressing the WMDFZ further means looking at a composite picture of states’ concerns and relations in the region that just counting weapons reduction alone.

July 16, 2012

"The Middle Eastern Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone (WMDFZ) – Nuclear Verification"

Conference Paper

By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

This publication is based on a presentation at the “Verification in the 21st Century – Technological, Political and Institutional Challenges and Opportunities”, 17 – 20 June 2012, Wilton Park, UK.

AP Photo

September 16, 2011

"Preventing the Next Fukushima"

Magazine or Newspaper Article, Science, volume 333

By Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom and Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"If nuclear power is to grow on the scale required to be a significant part of the solution to global climate disruption or scarcity of fossil fuels, major steps are needed to rebuild confidence that nuclear facilities will be safe from accidents and secure against attacks."

July 1, 2011

"A Multinational Fuel Consortium: Obstacles, Options, and Ways Forward"

Magazine or Newspaper Article, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, issue July 2011

By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

The World Nuclear Association estimates that by 2030, 600 nuclear reactors will be in operation around the world; 60 countries are considering nuclear power, out of which 10 to 25 are expected to bring nuclear power plants on line by 2030. This could lead, writes Olli Heinonen, to the construction of additional uranium enrichment plants, which, with adjustments, can produce material for nuclear weapons.

[A full version of this article is available at  http://bos.sagepub.com/content/current]

Kaeri Photo

March 29, 2013

Safeguards for Pyroprocessing Plants

Media Feature

By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Senior Fellow Olli Heinonen discussed pyroprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, its proliferation risks, and safeguards.

Summer 2011

"After Fukushima: How Should Nuclear Regulators Respond?"

Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter

By Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom, Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and William H. Tobey, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

With the nuclear crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi reactor continuing more than a month after the initial damage and radiation leaks, several Center experts responded to the question of what actions should be taken now by nuclear regulators around the world.

Spring 2013

"Insights on the Nuclear Negotiations with Iran"

Op-Ed, Middle East Journal, volume 67

By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Written at a time when Iran's nuclear issue, a subject of diplomatic efforts since 2003, remains unresolved, it would be reasonable to glean what explanations the book can provide to this end. Meanwhile, Iran has steadily progressed toward nuclear weapons capability and continues to disregard UN Security Council and IAEA resolutions. It is subject to increasingly tightened international sanctions and censure. Can Iran move away from steps that have caused its economy to tailspin and walk away from an isolated path?

IAEA

March 15, 2013

"Iran's Nuclear Clock and World Diplomacy"

Op-Ed, Policy Watch

By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Simon Henderson

Talks with Iran in Turkey next week and in Kazakhstan next month are important, but Tehran still needs to clarify the details of its controversial nuclear program.