Iran Says Nuclear Accord Talks Will Resume Within Five Weeks
Patrick Sykes, Arsalan Shahla, and Nick Wadhams | Bloomberg
Iran said it had agreed with the European Union to restart big-power talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal before the end of November and a precise date for the negotiations would be announced in the next week. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, who’s leading the country’s nuclear negotiations, made the comments in a tweet after meeting top EU diplomat Enrique Mora in Brussels. He didn’t say where the talks would take place and who would attend.
India Tests Nuclear-Capable Missile Amid Tensions With China
Associated Press
India has test-fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,125 miles) from an island off its east coast amid rising border tensions with China. The successful launch on Wednesday was in line with “India’s policy to have credible minimum deterrence that underpins the commitment to no first use,” said a government statement. The Agni-5 missile splashed down in the Bay of Bengal with “a very high degree of accuracy,” said the statement issued on Wednesday night. Beijing’s powerful missile arsenal has driven New Delhi to improve its weapons systems in recent years, with the Agni-5 believed to be able to strike nearly all of China.
China’s New Orbital Weapon Underlines That Nuclear Peace Requires Arms Control
Michael Krepon | Forbes
China is rapidly increasing the size of its missile forces. Beijing has tested a missile system that can orbit the Earth and then deliver nuclear weapons in ways that missile defenses cannot possibly deal with – a new “Sputnik moment” or close to it, according to Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Russia is also testing novel ways to deliver nuclear weapons and upgrading its deterrent. Where are we headed? How bad will arms racing become? Is there any hope for nuclear peace?
The F-35 Is One Step Closer to Carrying Nuclear Bombs. What’s Next?
Rachel S. Cohen | Air Force Times
America’s most advanced fighter jet is on its way to becoming the newest addition to the nuclear arsenal. The Air Force recently wrapped up the flight testing needed to ensure the B61-12 thermonuclear bomb design is compatible with the F-35A Lightning II, paving the way for the jet to begin carrying nuclear weapons. The airframe must still become certified to conduct nuclear operations as well.
Senate Appropriators Pile On Congressional Criticism of Next-Gen Missile Warning Program
Theresa Hitchens | Breaking Defense
With the Senate Appropriations Committee’s recent release of its fiscal 2022 defense spending bill, all four congressional committees responsible for overseeing the Space Force have now smacked the service’s management of the multi-billion dollar Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) missile warning satellite program. In its budget released last week, SAC cut $343 million from Space Force’s $2.4 billion request for the program, citing in part “unjustified” cost growth. The move comes despite public assurances from Space Force officials that everything is on track.
Hiroshima Atomic Bombing Survivor Sunao Tsuboi Dies at 96
Yuri Kageyama | Associated Press
Sunao Tsuboi, a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing who made opposing nuclear weapons the message of his life, including in a meeting with President Barack Obama in 2016, has died. He was 96. Tsuboi died Oct. 24 in a hospital in Hiroshima in southwestern Japan. The cause of death was given as an irregular heartbeat caused by anemia, Nihon Hidankyo, the nationwide group of atomic bomb survivors he headed until his death, said Wednesday.