Iran Rolls Back Nuclear Deal Commitments
BBC
Iran has declared that it will no longer abide by any of the restrictions imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal. In a statement, it said it would no longer observe limitations on its capacity for enrichment, the level of enrichment, the stock of enriched material, or research and development. Tensions have been high over the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by the US in Baghdad. Under the 2015 accord, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. US President Donald Trump abandoned it in 2018, saying he wanted to force Iran to negotiate a new deal that would place indefinite curbs on its nuclear programme and also halt its development of ballistic missiles. Iran refused, and had since been gradually rolling back its commitments under the agreement. It had been expected to announce its latest stance on the agreement this weekend, before news of Soleimani's death. However, the statement did not say that Iran was actually withdrawing from the agreement and it added that the country would continue to co-operate with the UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. Iran, it said, was ready to return to its commitments once it enjoyed the benefits of the agreement. Correspondents say this is a reference to its inability to sell oil and have access to its income under US sanctions.
‘It’s All Come to Life’: StratCom is Now Monitoring Military Threats From its New Command Post
Steve Liewer | Omaha World-Herald
Just in time to cope with increased tensions with North Korea and Iran, U.S. Strategic Command is warily watching the world from a new bunker. Last month, with zero fanfare, StratCom moved its battle-watch staff from the old hilltop headquarters building at Offutt Air Force Base — where teams have operated continuously since 1957 — into the brand-new $1.3 billion command-and-control facility about 500 yards away. The move, on Dec. 17, occurred two weeks after North Korean leaders lobbed the veiled threat of a “Christmas present,” which was widely expected to take the form of a missile test. As of Friday, about 90% of StratCom’s 3,300 personnel at Offutt had completed the move into the new building, said Karen Singer, a StratCom spokeswoman. The old headquarters was also outmoded, having never been designed for the thousands of computer workstations and high-tech communications gear needed in the command center for the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
China Nuclear Missile Development Steps Up a Gear With Test of Weapon Capable of Hitting US Mainland
Minnie Chan | South China Morning Post
China has moved to speed up development of its most advanced submarine-launched nuclear missile, a weapon capable of striking the US mainland, military sources have said. Two independent sources told the South China Morning Post that the Chinese navy had tested the JL-3, or Julang (or “Big Wave”) missile – which it ultimately intends to pair with its next-generation nuclear submarines. It was launched from Bohai Bay in the Yellow Sea late last month, with the warhead landing in the northwest Gobi Desert in Xinjiang. Unlike the previous three tests, which used a conventional Type 032 submarine, the latest launch was conducted using the Type 094 nuclear submarine, according to one source. But the military ultimately plans to arm the Type 096 submarine with the missiles, a process that could take years to complete. Each Type 094 submarine is able to carry 16 JL-2 missiles, but the upgraded Type 096 will be able to carry 24 JL-3s, according to the most recent Pentagon report on China’s military capabilities. Chinese military observers said Beijing’s missile tests were in response to moves from US President Donald Trump to target the country – along with Russia and North Korea – in his deterrence strategy.
Will Russia’s Nuclear-Armed Bombers in 2040 Be Drones?
Kelsey Atherton | C4ISRNET
As Russian military planners look to the middle of this century, could that mean putting a nuclear weapon in the control of a robot? An announcement by Russian leaders was not so explicit. Speaking to a newspaper in December, Lt. Gen. Sergey Kobylash of the Russian Aerospace Forces stated that Russia would have a sixth-generation strategic bomber by 2040, and that this strategic bomber would already be unmanned. Russia’s main strategic bombers, the Tu-95 and its maritime counterpart the Tu-142, entered service in 1956, and are expected to serve until the 2040s. How Russia will adapt to the retirement of the main bomber leg of its nuclear triad is addressed in this announcement in two ways. There is the introduction of a new bomber timed to the full retirement of the venerable Tu-95s, the “already unmanned” bomber that Kobylash is alluding to. In between now and that retirement is another Russian craft in the works, one that might portend the shape of bombers to come. Such an aircraft would fill the gap between the turboprop-powered Tu-95 and modest fleet of jet-powered Tu-160 bombers.
Netanyahu, in Apparent Stumble, Calls Israel ‘Nuclear Power’
Reuters
In an apparent slip of the tongue on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Israel as a nuclear power before correcting himself with a bashful nod and an embarrassed smile. Israel is widely believed to have an atomic arsenal but has never confirmed or denied that it has nuclear weapons, maintaining a so-called policy of ambiguity on the issue for decades. Netanyahu stumbled at the weekly cabinet meeting while reading in Hebrew prepared remarks on a deal with Greece and Cyprus on a subsea gas pipeline. “The significance of this project is that we are turning Israel into a nuclear power,” he said, before quickly correcting himself to say “energy power”. He then paused for a beat, acknowledging his mistake with a smile, and then ploughed on with his comments.
Satan for Scrap: Russia to Destroy Two of its Most Powerful Strategic Nuclear Missiles in 2020
RT
Russia is set to dismantle two of its Soviet-era intercontinental ballistic missiles – still considered the most powerful in the world – this year. The R-36M2 ICBMs are commonly known under the NATO reporting name SS-18 Satan. Two missiles, currently stored at a military compound in Russia’s Urals, are set to be destroyed by the end of November, Interfax reported citing a contract for their dismantling. The missiles – which have a dry weight of 52 tons – will be dismantled for scrap, since they contain quite a cache of valuable materials. The dismantlement of the two missiles will follow the procedure envisioned in the US-Russian Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New Start), the last arms control agreement still standing. The deal is set to expire in 2021, and while Moscow has repeatedly urged Washington to discuss its extension, the latter has showed no interest in it so far. The ageing Soviet-era missiles are set to be replaced with new RS-28 Sarmat munitions which have already been successfully tested. The Sarmat missiles will be capable of carrying any type of nuclear warhead, including the cutting-edge Avangard hypersonic glider, adopted by Russia’s military in late 2019.