Trump says US and Iran have 'major points of agreement,' including no nuclear weapons 

Michelle Stoddart and Alexandra Hutzler | ABC News 

President Donald Trump, after postponing U.S. strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure citing new negotiations with Tehran, said on Monday that talks will continue and that there are "major points of agreement." "They're not going to have a nuclear weapon, that's number one," Trump told reporters in Florida. "That's number one, two and three. They will never have a nuclear weapon," the president said. "They've agreed to that," he added. According to Iranian state media, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf said "no talks with the U.S. have taken place; reports claiming otherwise are fake news aimed at influencing financial and oil markets and distracting from the challenges facing the U.S. and Israel."  

Kim Jong Un says North Korea’s nuclear status is irreversible, threatens South 

Kyu-seok Shim | Reuters/Yahoo  

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would permanently strengthen its nuclear forces and treat South Korea as its most hostile state, as he set out policy priorities in a speech to parliament, state ‌media KCNA reported on Tuesday. Kim said Pyongyang's status as a nuclear-armed state was irreversible and expanding a "self-defensive nuclear deterrent" was essential to ‌national security, regional stability and economic development. He rejected the idea that nuclear disarmament could be exchanged for economic benefits or security guarantees, saying North Korea had already proven that maintaining nuclear forces while pursuing development was the correct strategic choice. 

Tehran strikes near Israeli nuclear center as Trump threatens attacks on Iranian power plants 

Leonie Cater | Politico 

Iranian missiles late Saturday hit two southern Israeli towns close to a nuclear facility in what Tehran said was retaliation for Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear site at Natanz. More than 160 people were injured in the strikes, which hit the towns of Dimona and Arad near Israel's Negev Nuclear Research Center, according to the Israeli health ministry. The attack came as U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the United States will “obliterate” energy plants in Iran if the government in Tehran doesn't fully open the Strait of Hormuz, giving the country a 48-hour deadline to comply. Tehran warned in reply that any strike on its energy facilities would prompt retaliatory attacks on U.S. and Israeli energy and infrastructure facilities.  

Is Pakistan building ICBMs? Non-proliferation experts dispute US warning 

Tom Hussain | South China Morning Post 

A US intelligence assessment warning of a potential threat from Pakistan’s prospective intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) has been challenged by nuclear non-proliferation experts, who say Islamabad’s defence programme is focused on regional deterrence rather than targeting the American “homeland”. ... On Thursday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi “categorically rejected” the US claims, saying the country’s strategic capabilities were “exclusively defensive in nature, aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty and maintaining peace and stability in South Asia”. 

French Nuclear Helps Shield Europe Power Prices Amid Iran Shock 

Eamon Farhat | Bloomberg 

France is on track for its highest level of nuclear generation for March since 2019, helping to support power markets across Europe amid the energy shock caused by the war in the Middle East. French reactors are running more steadily, allowing them to nearly double power exports compared with last year, according to data from network operator RTE. Europe is facing a surge in wholesale power prices, driven by its reliance on imports that have been disrupted by the US and Israel’s war on Iran. Benchmark European natural gas prices have risen sharply as the conflict hit key energy infrastructure and supply routes.  

Broken Tomahawks: America’s Cruise Missile Problem 

David Hambling | Forbes 

The cruise missile, properly BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile or TLAM is the tip of the spear for U.S. military action, delivering precision strikes from a thousand miles away. But images keep turning up of Tomahawks which have not even detonated, with local people photographing unexploded warheads ... Images from Syria in the last few weeks show three separate cruise missiles with unexploded warheads and another near Kirkuk in Iraq. And after the attacks on Nigeria – all the way back in January of this year – at least four unexploded Tomahawks were pictured. This is not a good look. So what is happening here, and why?