It boosted its stockpiles by 160% but with little concern for a way to recover them.
India claims that the food it procures for its stockpiles is intended for domestic consumption, but analysts say that once those stocks are released into the market, they could very well be shipped overseas.
In a sign of the continuing defensiveness within intelligence agencies, senior intelligence officials even this weekend were refusing to acknowledge that the C.I.A. and others got it wrong when it came to Iraq and its stockpiles of illicit weapons, days after David A. Kay, the former chief weapons inspector, drew that conclusion in public.
But Mr. Obama does not want to say the obvious: that he is willing to allow Iran to hold onto some face-saving enrichment capability as long as it does not retain its stockpiles of medium-enriched fuel, which can be converted to bomb-grade.
The Syrian regime must verify that it is turning over its stockpiles of chemical weapons to international monitors, Obama said, or face consequences for failing to do so.
Receiving only one bid for a rice tender on Monday, the government decided it had enough rice in its stockpiles and would wait until prices fell before buying more.
On Thursday the US government repeated a public warning to Syria that it had a responsibility to safeguard its stockpiles.
Meanwhile, the international chemical weapons watchdog says it will act quickly to help Syria hand over its stockpiles.
In recent weeks, top officials in the Obama administration have said that they believe it would take Iran at least a year to convert its stockpiles of nuclear fuel into weapons, giving the United States, Israel and others considerable time to react to any effort at a "breakout" — converting stocks of low-enriched uranium into weapons-grade material.
One particular sticking point is the pace of sanctions relief, with Iran insisting all sanctions be lifted at the onset of the deal, and the United States insisting the framework be built on Iran only getting relief from sanctions once it is verified the country is taking steps to reduce its stockpiles of enriched uranium.
"We have repeatedly made it clear that the Syrian government has a responsibility to safeguard its stockpiles of chemical weapons, and that the international community will hold accountable any Syrian officials who fail to meet that obligation," said Victoria Nuland, a State Department spokeswoman.
