Patrick Wintour | The Guardian
Donald Trump has said he wants a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with Iran and denied he wanted to blow Iran to smithereens, describing such reports as “greatly exaggerated”. But he said it was essential that Iran did not have a nuclear weapon, adding “we should start working on it immediately”. His remarks on his social media site, Truth Social represent the clearest sign that Trump is willing to hold talks with Iran to try to replace the nuclear deal signed in 2015, but from which Trump pulled the US out in 2018.
Tom Balmforth | Reuters
North Korean ballistic missiles fired at Ukraine by Russian forces since late December have been far more precise than salvos of the weapons launched over the past year, two senior Ukrainian sources told Reuters. At a time when Moscow's burgeoning ties with Pyongyang are causing alarm from Washington to Seoul, the increase in accuracy - to within 50-100m of the intended target - suggests North Korea is successfully using the battlefield to test its missile technology, the sources said.
Reuters
Russia is practising stealth manoeuvres of Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles in its Volga region, the defence ministry said on Thursday…The ministry published video of Yars missile launchers moving through a snowy forest.The ministry said that the missiles were being deployed on "combat patrol routes" under camouflage, moving in the field over distances of up to 100 km (62 miles). Troops were practising defence against sabotage groups and spy patrols of a mock enemy, it said.
Amir Daftari | Newsweek
Iran has unveiled a new underground missile facility along its southern coastline, marking its latest show of military strength. The "Missile City," designed to house a range of systems, was revealed alongside the presentation of a new ballistic missile with a striking range of over 1,000 miles, according to state news agencies. These developments come as Israel and the United States are set to discuss countering Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will raise the issue in Tuesday's White House meeting with President Donald Trump.
Patrick Tucker | Defense News
President Donald Trump’s executive order to create a “next-generation missile defense shield” that can “defend its citizens and critical infrastructure against—any foreign aerial attack on the Homeland” is technically and budgetarily difficult at best, experts said. One disconnect between the dream and the reality appears in the order’s title: “The Iron Dome for America.” Taken literally, this suggests the use of the Iron Dome anti-missile system made by Raytheon and Rafael and used effectively in recent conflicts by Israel…Trump’s order, however, appears to use “Iron Dome” as branding for a different kind of system entirely—one that, among other things, puts interceptor weapons in orbit.
Geoff Brumfiel | NPR
Amid these growing tensions, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, the civilian agency that maintains America's nuclear stockpile, allowed a small group of journalists to tour a secretive nuclear weapons laboratory beneath the Nevada desert this winter. The effort was part of outgoing NNSA administrator Jill Hruby's effort to display more transparency about what the U.S. is doing with its nuclear stockpile and why.