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The Iran Deal’s Building Blocks of a Better Nuclear Order

IN THIS ISSUE: The Iran Deal’s Building Blocks of a Better Nuclear Order, Russian Top Secret Hypersonic Glider Can Penetrate Any Missile Defense, High-Level Meeting Urges Nuke Test Ban Treaty Ratification, Cyber Attack on Satellite Could Be Act of War: HPSCI Ranking, Global Nuclear Weapons: Downsizing but Modernizing, U.S. Sees Progress in Latest Cyber Talks With China

Published on June 14, 2016

The Iran Deal’s Building Blocks of a Better Nuclear Order

George Perkovich

The U.S. debate over the Iran nuclear deal focused primarily on whether the agreement’s terms were sufficient to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, whether Iran would cheat, and whether Iran would use gains from sanctions relief to fund aggression against its neighbors and Israel. Practically no attention was paid in the media or in Congress to the possibility that the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), could provide opportunities to strengthen the global nonproliferation regime.

Russian Top Secret Hypersonic Glider Can Penetrate Any Missile Defense

Sputnik News

Russia’s new Yu-74 ultra-maneuverable hypersonic glide vehicles may become yet another response to the deployment of NATO’s missile installations in Eastern Europe, according to military analysts.

High-Level Meeting Urges Nuke Test Ban Treaty Ratification

George Jahn | Associated Press

A senior American official on Monday reaffirmed White House support for a treaty banning nuclear testing worldwide and urged other countries to move it toward its long-delayed enactment despite the “domestic political obstacles” keeping her country from ratifying it. Undersecretary of State Rose Gottemoeller’s comments at a meeting marking the 20th anniversary of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty underlined some of the obstacles keeping the treaty from being activated.

Cyber Attack on Satellite Could Be Act of War: HPSCI Ranking

Colin Clark | Breaking Defense

In a rare public event, the No. 2 member of the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee (HPSCI), Rep. Adam Schiff, said a cyber attack on a U.S. satellite could be considered an act of war.

Global Nuclear Weapons: Downsizing but Modernizing

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) launched its annual nuclear forces data, which highlights the current trends and developments in world nuclear arsenals. The data shows that while the overall number of nuclear weapons in the world continues to decline, none of the nuclear weapon-possessing states are prepared to give up their nuclear arsenals for the foreseeable future.

U.S. Sees Progress in Latest Cyber Talks With China

Ben Blanchard | Reuters

The United States is pleased to see progress has been made with China on information sharing about cyber threats, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday during the latest round of cyber security talks between the two countries.