Iran Nuclear Deal: Uranium Enrichment Breaches are Extortion, Says U.S.
BBC News
The US has accused Iran of a "crude and transparent attempt to extort payments from the international community" by violating the 2015 nuclear deal. The US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency said there was no credible reason for Iran to breach two key commitments on uranium enrichment. Iran has said the steps were a response to the sanctions the US reinstated when it abandoned the deal last year. It has vowed to reverse them if it is given compensation for economic losses. European powers still party to the deal have set up a mechanism for facilitating legitimate trade without direct financial transactions that they hope will circumvent the US sanctions. However, Iran has said it does not meet its needs. Iran's representative to the UN in New York told the BBC that the Europeans could do more, and that if they did not Iran would take further steps.
Military Throws Support Behind Nuclear Modernization, Space Force
Aaron Mehta | Defense News
U.S. President Donald Trump’s choice for the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has thrown his full support behind nuclear modernization plans, the creation of a Space Force and developing new capabilities to offset China. Gen. Mark Milley, currently the Army chief of staff, faced little in the way of tough questioning during his Thursday confirmation hearing; several members, including Republican Josh Hawley and Democrats Tim Kaine, Doug Jones and Richard Blumenthal, said in their remarks they intend to vote in support of the nomination. That easy questioning remained even after Milley voiced support when asked whether it would be “helpful” to place conventionally armed, ground-launched intermediate-range missiles in the Indo-Pacific region to help deter Chinese interests in the region. Those weapons had previously been banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which the Trump administration exited earlier this year.
Russia’s ‘Invulnerable’ Satan 2 Nuclear Missile Will be Ready to Fire by the End of 2020, Space Agency Official Says
David Brennan | Newsweek
Russia's latest nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile—which Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed can defeat all existing American defenses—will complete its testing phase by the end of 2020, the country's space agency has announced. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos, told reporters Saturday that the RS-28 Sarmat ICBM—known in the West by its NATO code name “Satan 2”—is already undergoing launch tests ahead of its adoption by Russian armed forces. “Firing tests are already underway,” Rogozin told reporters, according to state news agency Tass. “The bulk of firing tests will be completed by the end of the year. We expect the closing stage of tests at the end of next year.” Though Rogozin said the tests remain on schedule, the adoption of the RS-28 Sarmat has been beset by delays. It was originally supposed to become operational by 2016, but hold ups meant it was only even announced by Putin in March 2018 at his annual state of the nation address. Putin said that the “invulnerable” silo-based weapon has been in development since 2001, following President George W. Bush’s decision to pull out of a 1972 U.S.-Soviet anti-ballistic missile treaty. Revealing the weapon, Putin addressed the U.S. and said he had warned Bush not to withdraw from the treaty. “You didn't listen to our country then,” he said, “Listen to us now.”
Russian Nuclear Submarine: Norway Finds Big Radiation Leak
BBC News
Norway has found a radiation level 800,000 times higher than normal at the wreck of a Russian navy submarine that sank in the Norwegian Sea in 1989. A sample showed radioactive caesium leaking from a ventilation pipe in the Komsomolets. But researcher Hilde Elise Heldal said it was "not alarming", as the Arctic water quickly diluted it. The Soviet-era sub is also deep down, at 1,680m (5,512ft), and there are few fish in the area, she said. A fire on board killed 42 sailors.
Blast from the Past: The Pentagon’s Updated War Plan for Tactical Nukes
Todd South, Stephen Losey, and Kristine Froeba | Military Times
The first sign of a 21st Century nuclear war might be command post sensors lighting up and aircraft radios buzzing as pilots notice a strange-looking cloud forming. Heat rises as ground troops a few dozen miles away feel the winds shift. Satellite communications are out. So are some ground links. U.S. and allied command posts can’t reach brigades in the field. Forward deployed troops would see the intelligence finally come streaming in, followed by orders from the Combatant Command — strike back, use our tactical nukes if you must. And by the way, some unlucky troops will need to roll into that area to assess the damage, counterattack and aid any survivors. The world has not seen a nuclear strike in combat since 1945. But a nuclear attack from an enemy — and potential U.S. counter strike — is a scenario that’s drawing renewed attention from the Defense Department as the military prepares for the grim prospect of full-scale combat operations involving nuclear weapons.
North Korea Threatens the South Over Its Purchase of U.S. Stealth Fighters
Timothy Martin and Dasl Yoon | Wall Street Journal
North Korea called the planned mid-July delivery of two U.S. stealth jet fighters to South Korea an affront to last year’s pledge by the two countries to tone down military tensions on the peninsula, saying it had no choice but to develop arms to counter them. Pyongyang, which frequently makes exaggerated threats against Seoul and Washington, said it would develop “special armaments” to destroy the jets in a state-media report Thursday. Seoul has plans to buy 40 of the F-35A jets, with the first two having arrived in March. This year, Pyongyang has conducted three smaller-scale weapons tests—including a May launch of evasive short-range missiles that military experts believe can reach U.S. military bases in South Korea.