Scoop: U.S. brokers secret deal on clandestine Syrian nuclear site

Barak Ravid | Axios

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will soon remove nuclear material stored at a clandestine site in Syria after the Trump administration reached understandings with Syria and Israel, according to Israeli and U.S. officials.  Why it matters: The Trump administration and IAEA scrambled to reach a diplomatic agreement to secure the material and prevent an escalation involving Israel, Syria and possibly even Turkey over the sensitive site.

Pentagon wants ‘expanding options’ for nuclear weapons, officials say

Ashley Roque and Aaron Mehta | Breaking Defense

“There's, you know, a review or sort of relook at the employment guidance, which is more about the commander of STRATCOM and his responsibilities and [the defense] secretary's authorities, etcetera,” said Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby. … The comments come after over a decade of concerns that Russia and China are developing lower-yield “tactical” nuclear warheads, while the US arsenal is largely reliant on heavier “strategic” nuclear weapons. The theory is that a foreign country could use lower-yield weapons and lock the US president into a no-win situation: either not responding, or having to respond with overwhelming, world-ending force.

Trump pivots back to sanctions for Iran as other strategies to end his war fizzle

AP/NPR | August 11, 2026

The president on Monday said that since Iran is seeking compensation as part of any peace talks, he now intends to demand the same for the U.S. side. It's part of a larger pivot this weekend by Trump to argue that Iran is now on the cusp of financially collapsing, even though it has already endured decades of financial sanctions, which are often a longer-term strategy rather than an immediate tool of warfare that can halt a conflict. The shift comes as U.S. stockpiles of key weapons have dwindled and as stop-start talks seem again to have stalled. But Trump insists the pressure can lead to a breakthrough.

Romania could shut down nuclear reactor on Thursday as Danube levels fall

Reuters | August 11, 2026

Romanian state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica, could shut down its last working reactor on August 13 as levels on the Danube river continue to fall, it said on Tuesday, despite efforts ​to divert cooling water to the plant. Record-low river levels forced Nuclearelectrica to shut ​down one reactor in late July. The company has two reactors ⁠in Cernavoda on the Danube accounting for a fifth of the country's power ​output. Romania has taken unprecedented measures to keep the country's sole working reactor running, including detonating ​a rock obstruction out of the water, dredging the riverbed and sinking rock-filled barges in the Danube to redirect flows to around the power plant.

Plutonium aging in U.S. nuclear arsenal not affecting weapons' performance, study finds

Clara Bates | Santa Fe New Mexican

An independent scientific advisory group to the federal government found that the plutonium in the United States’ existing nuclear weapons stockpile is “aging slowly” and degradation issues “do not call into question present weapons performance.”  The executive summary of a congressionally mandated study conducted by the scientific group JASON, published last week by the U.S. Department of Energy, evaluated the status and lifespan of plutonium pits, which serve as the trigger devices for nuclear weapons.

Risks of Racing: Russian and Chinese Perceptions of Strategic Competition in the Euro-Atlantic Region

Heather Williams, Joseph Rodgers, Nicholas Adamopoulos, Lachlan MacKenzie, and Elena Tiedens | CSIS

As the United States and its allies invest more in their nuclear forces to deter Russia and China, some have warned of an impending arms race. The likelihood of an arms race, however, depends on perceptions in Moscow and Beijing … The study found that Russia and China are unlikely to abandon their nuclear modernization and expansion programs due to domestic factors and long-standing distrust of the United States. Both countries, though, may view investments in certain capabilities as more escalatory than others. Accordingly, the United States and its allies should tailor deterrence and risk reduction efforts to Russian and Chinese threat perceptions.