Don't Overreact to Russia and its Forty "New" Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
Richard Sokolsky and Paul Stronski | Eurasia Outlook
Loose talk about nuclear weapons heightens tensions, but the actual military threat these missiles pose should not be exaggerated. Putin’s pronouncements have been primarily for propaganda purposes and other Kremlin officials have tried to walk back some of this rhetoric, likely aware that it does not play well in the West.
NATO to Weigh Nuclear Threats From Russia
Naftali Bendavid | Wall Street Journal
NATO defense ministers will gather Wednesday facing a challenge they have not confronted since the end of the Cold War: vocal nuclear threats from an assertive Kremlin.
Iranian Parliament Bans Inspection of Military Sites Under Nuclear Deal
Tehran Times
The Iranian parliament voted on Sunday to ban access to military sites and documents and interview with nuclear scientists as part of a possible nuclear deal with world powers. Of the 213 lawmakers present, 199 legislators, some chanting “Death to the America,” voted in favor of the bill.
Ayatollah's Decree Complicates Iran Nuclear Talks
Michael Crowley | Politico
"Khamenei will never admit that Iran conducted weapons related research," said Karim Sadjadpour at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Evidence of military research, Sadjadpour said, "can be explained away as an elaborate Mossad-CIA conspiracy."
Russia Pushing Through Sale of Advanced Missile Systems to Iran
The Moscow Times
Russia could sell Iran advanced Almaz-2500 anti-aircraft missile systems after Tehran withdraws a lawsuit against Moscow for canceling a previous weapons delivery, newspaper Kommersant reported Monday citing an unidentified Kremlin source.
Russia and Saudi Arabia Ink Nuclear Energy Agreement Pact for First Time
Economic Times
For the first time in the history of Russian-Saudi relations the document creates a legal basis for cooperation between two countries in the field of nuclear energy on a wide range of areas, including construction of nuclear power reactors, provision of cycle of nuclear fuel, including for nuclear power plants and research reactors.