Pakistan's first nuclear weapon detonation took place in May 1998, just a few weeks after neighboring country India's first nuclear tests. Pakistan's nuclear weapons are seen as some of the world's most insecure, due to the instability in the region, the threat of terrorism, and the history of clandestine nuclear networks. For years, top Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q.
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Anglo-American (In)Dependence
Americans celebrate their Independence Day on Wednesday. It has been 236 years since they broke away from Great Britain, but the pair remain two of the closest allies in the world. But just how special is the so-called ‘special relationship’, and how much does this depend upon the cooperation between their nuclear weapons communities?
Iran Update: Number 160
- Moscow talks leave both parties frustrated
- Latest IAEA-Iran talks end without making progress; Iran produces fuel plates for reactor
- Putin proposes Iranian involvement in Syria crisis
- Iran announces development of nuclear-powered submarine
- Iranian and British representatives hold difficult bi-lateral meeting
Russia’s Iran Game
Russia’s refusal to follow the leadership of the West, and to resist attempts to strengthen multilateral sanctions, has complicated efforts to put stronger pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.
Getting to Zero Update
NATO completed its Deterrence and Defense Posture Review with mixed results. Diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program picked up pace. A National Academies panel released its updated assessment on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty’s implications for U.S. security, with apparent positive conclusions for supporters.
Country Report: India
India is a nuclear weapon state, but since it is not party to the NPT, its nuclear weapons program is not under the same regulations nor does the country have the same obligations as the NPT nuclear weapon states. This, coupled with India's relationship with the U.S. and volatile history with neighboring country, Pakistan, which also possesses nuclear weapons, makes India an important country to watch. BASIC monitors India's nuclear weapons program in its Getting to Zero Updates.
BASIC News: May – June 2012
NATO leaders met at their summit in Chicago on May 20-21 to agree on, amongst other things, the text arising from the Deterrence and Defence Posture Review that had been 18 months in process. BASIC has been organizing roundtables around Europe, Moscow and Washington alongside the Arms Control Association, IFSH (Hamburg), and local partners to discuss nuclear-related issues with officials and others to influence the discussion. The DDPR does not close this debate, but rather opens it up over the next few years.
Country Report: Iran
Iran's nuclear enrichment program is under close scrutiny from the international community, but the country's government officials insist that its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes only. BASIC monitor's Iran's nuclear program and international responses to Iran's nuclear activities. Read below for the country report summaries from the Getting to Zero updates in reverse chronological order.