A New Russian-U.S. Nuclear Treaty or an Extension of New START?
Vladimir Dvorkin
The most advantageous option for Russia and the United States is to sign another START agreement on more cuts in nuclear weapons. However, if that is not possible, it makes sense for the two sides to extend the current treaty signed in 2010. The limits on nuclear weapons set by the New START treaty between Russia and the United States are due to expire in 2021. With bilateral relations between the two countries at an impasse, what are the options for keeping the nuclear arms control agenda alive?
U.N. Official: Israel Should Approve Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Within Five Years
Haaretz
Israel should ratify the nuclear test ban treaty within five years - and Iran should also ratify but the timing is uncertain, the head of the UN organization established to implement the treaty said Wednesday. Lassina Zerbo said in an interview with The Associated Press that Israel should be the next key country to ratify the treaty and he hopes it takes less than five years.
Japan Pressures U.N. for Fresh Sanctions over North Korean Missile Launches
Japan Times
Japan pressed the Security Council on Tuesday to consider fresh sanctions against North Korea for test-firing ballistic missiles that it said were a threat to the region and the entire world. The council strongly condemned the series of launches on Friday and agreed in a unanimous statement backed by China to take “further significant measures.”
Boeing’s Art of the Iran Deal
Omar S. Bashir and Eric Lorber | Foreign Affairs
Last week, representatives from Boeing visited Tehran to hammer out the details of a proposed multibillion-dollar sale of commercial aircraft to Iran. The possible sale of these planes has sparked fierce debate in the U.S. Congress, with many on both sides of the aisle rightly concerned that the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) may use these planes to send arms and illicit goods to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces or to the international terrorist group Hezbollah.
Pentagon Eyes Missile-Defense Sensors In Space
Marcus Weisgerber | DefenseOne
The latest piece of the Pentagon shield built to protect the United States from long-range ballistic missiles, the building will house the prototype Long-Range Discrimination Radar, which Lockheed Martin executives say will track enemy missiles more precisely than today’s sensors. Tests in New Jersey will help shape an even larger missile tracking radar being built in Alaska at Clear Air Force Station, a military outpost near the Arctic Circle that has watched for incoming ICBMs since the late 1950s.
Philippines May Open Mothballed Marcos-Era Nuclear Power Plant
Reuters
The Philippines is looking into operating the country’s only nuclear power plant, built four decades ago at more than $2 billion but never used, to ensure the long-term supply of clean and cheap electricity, its energy minister said. The Southeast Asian country is joining more than two dozen other countries looking to add nuclear power to their energy mix, including neighbors Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.