Biden Goes ‘Full Steam Ahead’ on Trump’s Nuclear Expansion Despite Campaign Rhetoric

Lara Seligman, Bryan Bender, and Connor O’Brien | Politico

President Joe Biden ran on a platform opposing new nuclear weapons, but his first defense budget backs two controversial new projects put in motion by President Donald Trump and also doubles down on the wholesale upgrade of all three legs of the arsenal. The decision to retain a low-yield warhead that was outfitted on submarine-launched ballistic missiles in 2019, and to initiate research into a new sea-launched cruise missile, has sparked an outcry from arms control advocates and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which is vowing a fight to reverse the momentum.

EU Official Sees Iran Nuclear Deal at Next Round of Talks

Francois Murphy | Reuters

The European Union envoy coordinating talks on reviving the Iran nuclear deal said on Wednesday he believed a deal would be struck at the next round of talks starting next week, but other senior diplomats said “the most difficult decisions lie ahead.” “I am sure that the next round will be the one in which we will finally get a deal,” Enrique Mora, chief coordinator of the talks, told reporters as the fifth round of indirect U.S.-Iranian negotiations wrapped up on Wednesday. However, senior diplomats from Britain, France and Germany, among the major powers that struck the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, were more cautious.

Russian Upper House Votes to Exit From Overflight Treaty

Vladimir Isachenkov | Associated Press

The Russian parliament’s upper house voted Wednesday to withdraw from an international treaty allowing surveillance flights over military facilities following the U.S. exit from the treaty. The vote comes after U.S. officials told Moscow last month that President Joe Biden’s administration had decided not to reenter the Open Skies Treaty, which had allowed surveillance flights over military facilities before President Donald Trump withdrew from the pact.

Gadsden Flag Patch on Airman’s Uniform Wasn’t Authorized, Officials Say

Oriana Pawlyk | Military Times

An airman from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, wore a Gadsden flag patch in place of the American flag on his uniform without authorization, according to a base spokesperson. U.S. Strategic Command on Saturday tweeted a news release promoting nuclear launch security measures, along with a photo of Capt. Alexander Garland, a 341st Operations Support Squadron nuclear cryptographic operator, inserting a floppy disk into equipment at the base, according to the photo caption. He was wearing the patch on his Operation Camouflage Pattern, or OCP, uniform in the photo.

Japan Softens Commitment to Nuclear Power in Draft Growth Strategy

Kyodo News

Japan has softened its commitment to nuclear power in a draft economic growth strategy to be finalized later this month after facing opposition from several Cabinet ministers, government sources said Thursday. The government has dropped the key phrase that it “will continue to seek to make the most of nuclear power” after protests from Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and administrative reform minister Taro Kono, who are proponents of renewable energy to achieve a carbon neutral society, according to the sources.

Biden Urged to Bring Missile Defense Reductions to Putin Summit

Joe Gould | Defense News

Ahead of President Joe Biden’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin this month, more than 60 advocates, former military officers, lawmakers and government officials are asking Biden to put missile defense reductions on the agenda. The letter targets, for one, the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, which saw a plan to upgrade its interceptors cancelled amid technical problems in 2019. Since, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman were selected to compete for a next-generation interceptor to be fielded in 2028, and the Missile Defense Agency’s FY22 budget request last week included $926.1 million for the program. But advocates see a potential off-ramp from a burgeoning arms race.