Paul Ingram reports from Tehran

I’m in Tehran for BASIC in the middle of the second annual two day international conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation laid on by IPIS, the Foreign Ministry’s think tank.

NATO deterrence and defense, and divisions over tactical nuclear weapons, June 8-9 Brussels

Officials have increasingly become concerned that disagreements over U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in Europe could seriously harm Alliance unity, as NATO defense ministers prepare to meet this week. Although not the main issue for discussion at the meeting in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday, tactical nuclear weapons are up for consideration as part of NATO’s ongoing Deterrence and Defense Posture Review (DDPR).

GAO reveals challenges ahead for U.S. commitments to NATO’s nuclear deployments

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has warned that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) could be in danger of failing to meet B61 Life Extension Program (LEP) goals and leave the United States unable to support its tactical nuclear deployments that are assigned to NATO.

Senator Kyl and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

It is no secret that Jon Kyl, a Republican senator from Arizona who has served on the Senate since 1995, opposes the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). He opposed its ratification in 1999, and is now even more implacably opposed to Senate ratification than before.

Getting to Zero Update

Russia and the United States have begun the exchange of information on their nuclear arsenals under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty as they assess next steps on arms control and also try to resolve their differences over missile defense.

Middle East unrest complicates quest for WMD-free zone

The recent uprisings in the Middle East have clouded the picture for a planned 2012 conference on establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, BASIC Program Director Anne Penketh writes.

Deterrence in the Age of Nuclear Proliferation

In their fourth The Wall Street Journal OpEd promoting the need for global nuclear disarmament, former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former Defense Secretary William J. Perry, former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and former Senator Sam Nunn call for nations to begin moving now toward a new, safer and more stable form of deterrence with decreasing nuclear risks and an increasing measure of assured security.

Unrest Complicates 2012 Middle East Meeting

The upheavals sweeping across the Middle East have cast a long shadow over diplomatic negotiations aimed at organizing a conference on establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in that region, according to officials involved in the process.