Sophia Besch and Anna Bartoux | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, after only a few weeks in office, has raised serious doubts among its European allies about America’s commitment to their security and the NATO alliance. Recent leaks confirm the antagonism leading members of the administration feel toward Europe. This has led Europeans to seriously worry about whether Washington will continue to extend nuclear deterrence—sometimes referred to as a nuclear “umbrella”—to the continent. Some leaders have begun to discuss their nuclear options.
The Times of Israel
Iran is approaching weekend talks with the United States over its nuclear program warily with little confidence in progress and deep suspicions of US intentions, Iranian officials on Tuesday, with one official saying Washington’s demands are “unacceptable” to Tehran. The talks were announced on Monday by US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened Iran with military action if it does not agree to a deal since his return to the White House in January.
Filip Timotija | The Hill
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a potential nuclear deal with Iran must include the complete destruction of Tehran’s nuclear facilities under U.S. supervision and reiterated that the Islamic republic cannot have a nuclear weapon. “We agree that Iran must not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. This can be achieved through an agreement — but only if it is a Libya-style agreement; one where the facilities are entered, dismantled, and destroyed under American supervision and execution — that’s good,” Netanyahu said in a video Tuesday, prior to departure for Israel, referencing the 2003 nuclear disarmament of Libya.
Guy Faulconbridge and Dmitry Antonov | Reuters
Senior Kremlin officials on Tuesday said there was little chance of striking a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States soon because there was not enough trust and cautioned that a host of other countries would gain nuclear weapons. The bleak assessment from Moscow comes amid the disintegration of the tangle of arms control treaties which sought to slow the arms race and reduce the risk of nuclear war, and the swift expansion of China's nuclear arsenal.
Diana George | Times Now
India is preparing to commission a critical new naval base on the eastern coast even as China continues to expand its footprint in the Indian Ocean Region. The upcoming base near Rambilli, 50km south of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, is expected to be operational in 2026 and will serve as a strategic hub for nuclear submarines and warships… These submarines will be able to enter and exit the Bay of Bengal undetected by spy satellites, giving them a direct and covert route to vital waterways such as the Malacca Strait for long-range deterrent patrols.
World Nuclear News
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been under Russian military control since March 2022 and its director has said he expects Russian licences for operation of all units to be obtained by the end of 2027. Ukraine's Energoatom says any talk of restarting the units is a violation of nuclear and radiation safety standards. The current director of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Yuriy Chernichuk, in comments reported by Strana Rosatom said: "Our units have been idle for a long time. Before launching, we will have to carry out a large complex of works to inspect the equipment, repairs, confirm the operability, readiness of the unit for operation."