Toby Dalton, Sarah Frazar, Lindsey Gehrig, Ariel (Eli) Levite, and Mackenzie Schuessler | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Governments, nuclear industry actors, utilities, private sector nuclear energy consumers, and other actors are focused on addressing what they perceive as up-front requirements for deployment to enable a rapid and widespread implementation of nuclear energy… Such actions may be necessary, but they are unlikely to be sufficient… Focusing exclusively on the near-term challenges that constitute the primary agenda does not guarantee that a significant expansion of nuclear energy will deliver all the claimed benefits for its users. To ensure those outcomes, governments and industry actors need to address a broader agenda of requirements.
Paul Sonne | The New York Times
The Kremlin on Monday said it welcomed President Trump’s stated willingness to extend mutual caps on long-range nuclear weapons, demarcating an area where negotiations between Russia and the United States could proceed despite stalled talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Last month, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia proposed extending for one year the existing limits on the number of deployed long-range nuclear weapons under the New START treaty, which expires in February. On Sunday, Mr. Trump said the proposal “sounds like a good idea to me.”
Sueli Gwiazdowski | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
A nascent boom in nuclear energy demand—driven by big tech’s energy-hungry data centers—has catapulted nuclear power and the spent-fuel problem back into the laps of public officials. A May 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump promoting nuclear power highlights recycling as a possible solution. But the record on recycling is mixed, at best, and the option currently doesn’t exist in the United States. Without focused policy solutions, the United States could be counting on an unproven and temporary solution to a long-term and growing problem.
Arsalan Shahla | Bloomberg
In comments published Sunday on his official Telegram channel and addressed to foreign diplomats in Tehran, Abbas Araghchi said Iran is “ready to pursue any solution that helps build trust” over its nuclear situation, adding “there is now no excuse left for Western countries to hinder Iran’s cooperation or negotiations…” Araghchi also said the role of European countries in potential future talks “has clearly diminished.”
Park Chan-kyong | South China Morning Post
North Korea is expected to showcase a new generation of strategic missiles and advanced weapons systems at a massive military parade this week, in what observers say is an attempt to project its growing ability to strike US and South Korean targets. Analysts predict that the parade will centre on a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile and a series of hypersonic weapons designed to threaten US naval forces in the region. The new ICBM, which reportedly has a high-thrust solid-fuel engine, could bring the American mainland within range of Pyongyang.
Kelsey Tamborrino | Politico
Energy Secretary Chris Wright is warning that the agency within the Energy Department that oversees the safety and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile has only enough funding to operate at full strength for about eight more days because of the ongoing government shutdown. “Eight more days of funding, and then we have to go into some emergency shutdown procedures, putting our country at risk,” Wright said Thursday evening on Fox News, referring to the National Nuclear Security Administration.