James M. Acton | Strategic Studies
Developments in nuclear and precise nonnuclear munitions, cyber capabilities, and anti-satellite weapons are reducing the survivability of many nuclear command, control, communications, and intelligence (C3I) assets. However, given the apparent invulnerability of a few such assets, the Chinese, Russian, and U.S. systems for enabling retaliation after an attempted disarming strike are currently survivable. Moreover, if states take advantage of countervailing technological developments – most importantly, large constellations of small satellites – those systems are likely to remain survivable. That said, some trade-offs – between survivable C3I capabilities and survivable delivery systems, and between resilience against kinetic attack and cyberattack – will arise.
Parisa Hafezi | Reuters
Iran will not succumb to pressure and sanctions imposed by Washington, the Islamic Republic's top diplomat said on Tuesday after meeting his Russian counterpart, days after Moscow held initial talks with the U.S. just a month after Donald Trump returned to the White House…"Iran's position regarding nuclear talks is clear and we will not negotiate under pressure and sanctions," Araqchi said during a televised joint press conference with Lavrov.
Anton Sokolin | NK News
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) seeks to re-engage with North Korea and establish its presence in the country, the organization’s chief said in Tokyo on Thursday, expressing concerns over the DPRK’s de-facto possession of a nuclear arsenal…The IAEA’s chief called the “existence of a very important nuclear weapons arsenal” in the DPRK a “factor of international concern,” noting that Pyongyang’s unwillingness to heed U.N. resolutions aimed at stemming its nuclear ambitions. “They see themselves — between codes — as a nuclear weapon state, although we know in legal terms this is not acceptable for the international community, but it’s also a fact.”
Vibhu Mishra | UN
“The nuclear option is not an option at all,” he said, addressing the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. “It is a one-way road to annihilation. We need to avoid this dead-end at all costs.” Mr. Guterres warned delegates of heightened global security concerns, noting that trust between nations is crumbling, international law is being undermined and multilateral treaties are under strain…Despite the grim picture, the Secretary-General highlighted the Pact for the Future adopted by world leaders at the General Assembly last September, as a sign of hope.
World Nuclear News
The EU Nuclear Alliance, representing 11 European countries, met with the Commission on 18 February to discuss the plan. Following the meeting, the Alliance issued a declaration.The statement notes "the benefits of nuclear power plants go beyond the borders of Member States which opt for nuclear energy". It says low-carbon baseload energies, such as nuclear, "stabilise our common grid and the entire European electricity market ... Without such energies, there is no path for the EU to provide to its citizens affordable, reliable and abundant low-carbon energy while achieving net-zero by 2050."
Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo | DefenseNews
Creating an Iron Dome defensive umbrella for the United States or Europe, modeled after Israel’s eponymous system, would be unsuitable against the threat of long-range missiles, according to industry executives here at the IDEX defense fair…Retired Brig. Gen. Shachar Shohat, vice president of business development in the air and missile defense division at Rafael, acknowledged that as countries have latched on to the branding of Iron Dome, there is confusion around its purpose. “We need to differentiate between the Iron Dome, which is a short to medium-range range system — it became a brand name like Coca Cola that now everybody uses as it is highly successful,” he said in an interview with Defense News. But, Shohat added, Israel’s multilayered air-defense doctrine is about more than one system.