How to Solve the AUKUS Nuclear Submarine Deal’s Nuclear Fuel Problem
James Acton | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Canberra should offer that Australia will not enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel for any reason—with one potential caveat—while Australia controls the AUKUS submarines’ fuel, as long as the United Kingdom and the United States commit to take that fuel back as soon as it becomes safe to transport.
A New Approach to Arms Control
Ulrich Kühn and Heather Williams | Foreign Affairs
Regardless of who is to blame, arms control as we know it has come to an end. This means that the United States must convert the G-7 pledge to induce “responsible’’ nuclear behavior into a new agenda. Instead of focusing on weapons numbers, the United States should try to encourage responsible behaviors and help stigmatize irresponsible ones.
U.S. Launches Quiet Diplomatic Push With Iran to Cool Tensions
Laurence Norman and David S. Cloud | The Wall Street Journal
The Biden administration has quietly restarted talks with Iran in a bid to win the release of American prisoners held by Tehran and curb the country’s growing nuclear program, people close to the discussions said. As contacts between the two sides resumed, Washington also approved €2.5 billion, equivalent to $2.7 billion, in payments by the Iraqi government for Iranian electricity and gas imports, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. The money had been frozen by U.S. economic sanctions.
North Korea Launches 2 Ballistic Missiles Toward Sea in Protest of US-South Korea Military Drills
HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG | Associated Press
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Thursday, its neighbors said, in a resumption of weapons tests to protest just-ended South Korean-U.S. live-fire drills that it viewed as an invasion rehearsal. The launches are the first by North Korea since it failed to put its first spy satellite into orbit in late May. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were launched from North Korea’s capital region and traveled about 780 kilometers (480 miles) before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Next-gen Nuclear Missile Rollout Slips on Supply Chain, Software Woes
Stephen Losey | DefenseNews
The US Air Force’s next-generation nuclear missile will reach the fleet in mid-2030, months later than originally planned, as staffing shortfalls, supply chain issues and software challenges persist. The LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile — formerly known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent — will reach its initial operational capability sometime between April and June 2030, the Government Accountability Office said in a June 8 weapons assessment report.
The West Must Act Now to Break Russia’s Nuclear Fever
ROSE GOTTEMOELLER | Financial Times
The key is to start thinking now about both what we will require of Moscow after its defeat in Ukraine, and how we ensure our own future security. While Russia’s interests cannot come at the cost of any other country, we can acknowledge that they are valid. Making that clear may help break the nuclear fever: it is to everyone’s benefit that we make that happen.