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Iran Update: Number 151

  • Iran pronounces strong commitment to nuclear program after IAEA releases latest critical report
  • Major diplomatic maneuvers remained stalled
  • Western countries continue to tighten sanctions
  • BASIC at Iran’s second international nuclear disarmament conference, June 12-13

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).

Getting to Zero Update

NATO proceeded quietly with its Strategic Deterrence and Defense Posture Review, while U.S. and Russian disagreements over missile defense continued. The United States was also conducting a review of nuclear targeting. In the United Kingdom, the “successor” to the Vanguard-class submarine that carries Trident missiles officially entered “Initial Gate,” or the initial design phase.

A global ban on fissile material?

Ask any diplomat what is happening at the Conference on Disarmament (CD) when a session resumes and the question usually provokes a burst of derisive laughter. The CD session which opens today in Geneva, where attempts to launch negotiations on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) remain in the deep freeze, is no exception.

Apocalypse Never

If you have a nuclear addiction, Doctor Tad Daley has the cure. In his book “Apocalypse Never: Forging the Path to a Nuclear Weapon-Free World,” Daley explains the risks from the most dangerous weapons known to man, describes a nightmare scenario of escalating nuclear non-proliferation, and sets out the steps for their abolition. Why? Because, he argues, nuclear weapons are not needed in the modern world.