Biden's Iran Envoy Calls Nuclear Deal’s Fate ‘One Big Question Mark’
Alexander Ward and Quint Forgey | Politico
Robert Malley, the man President Joe Biden has tasked with putting the United States back into the Iran nuclear deal, isn’t supremely confident he’ll succeed in his mission. “It’s just one big question mark,” he told NatSec Daily during an exclusive interview in his State Department office. Rejoining the multinational accord “is not something that we can fully control,” he said, citing a lack of engagement from the Iranians. Negotiations between the United States, Iran and five world powers have proceeded fruitlessly since April. Tehran’s side won’t even speak directly with Washington’s and instead prefers working through intermediaries while in Vienna. That dance was complicated by the arrival of new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner who experts suspect is more skeptical of the diplomatic effort than his pact-signing predecessor. No open bargaining has taken place since Raisi came to power in mid-July.
China Has Improved Accuracy of Its Missile Force, U.S. Army Finds
Anthony Capaccio | Bloomberg
The Chinese military has improved the accuracy and range of its ballistic missile force, the world’s largest, according to a new U.S. Army report. The DF-11, the most widely deployed short-range ballistic missile of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, was originally designed to hit targets out to 300 kilometers (186 miles) but newer models have expanded ranges beyond 700 kilometers, according to an Aug. 9 Army publication entitled “Chinese Tactics” released Monday by the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy.
Wildfires Near Russia’s Nuclear Research Center Spark State of Emergency
Moscow Times
Russian authorities have declared an interregional state of emergency as tough-to-contain forest fires threaten the country’s top-secret nuclear weapons research center, Interfax reported Tuesday, citing the emergencies ministry. Wildfires have raged in the Nizhny Novgorod region and the neighboring republic of Mordovia, both roughly 500 kilometers east of Moscow, since early August. The fires have reached the closed city of Sarov, which has been a center for nuclear research since the Soviet era and was the site of the first Soviet atomic bomb’s development. Today, the research center makes nuclear warheads and is believed to be developing Russia’s strategic missiles, including its highly touted hypersonic arsenal.
Putin Launches Construction of New Warships Amid Tensions
Vladimir Isachenkov | Associated Press
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday launched the construction of new nuclear submarines and other warships, part of a sweeping military modernization effort amid tensions with the West. Speaking in a video call, Putin gave orders for two nuclear submarines armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles along with two diesel-powered submarines and two corvettes at shipyards in Severodvinsk, St. Petersburg and Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Missile Defense Agency Director Wants Less Complex, More Mobile Aegis Ashore
Jen Judson | Defense News
The Missile Defense Agency director says he’d like to see the Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense system — which currently requires significant permanent infrastructure — become a less complex and more mobile asset. The U.S. has had a fully operational Aegis Ashore site in Deveselu, Romania, since 2016, but has struggled to build a second fixed site in Redzikowo, Poland. This location was supposed to be in operation by August 2018, but will likely not be up and running until fiscal 2022 at the earliest.
Pentagon Poised to Unveil, Demonstrate Classified Space Weapon
Theresa Hitchens | Breaking Defense
For months, top officials at the Defense Department have been working toward declassifying the existence of a secret space weapon program and providing a real-world demonstration of its capabilities, Breaking Defense has learned. The effort — which sources say is being championed by Gen. John Hyten, the vice-chairman of the joint chiefs of staff — is close enough to completion that there was a belief the anti-satellite technology might have been revealed at this year’s National Space Symposium, which kicks off next week.