The spectre of renewed Iran–North Korea missile cooperation

Ankit Panda | East Asia Forum

After months of US and Israeli strikes in 2026, Iran must rebuild its missile force if it is to deter further attacks on its territory. Tehran has collaborated with North Korea on missile technology since the 1990s, though cooperation slowed through the 2020s as both became more self-sufficient. While there is no sign Pyongyang is assisting yet, it holds combat data from Ukraine, improved missile precision and nearly 10 years of intercontinental-range flight-testing — attractive capabilities for Iran should it decide to pursue nuclear weapons.

‘There is no Golden Dome’ unless Congress prioritizes funding, general warns

Thomas Novelly | Defense One

The sprawling Golden Dome missile-defense program is in peril because the White House decided to seek the vast majority of its 2027 funding via a controversial budget maneuver, the program’s leader said Tuesday. Gen. Michael Guetlein didn’t explicitly call out the administration’s decision to propose using reconciliation to fund about 97 percent of the program’s $17.5 billion request. But the Space Force four-star did say it creates a “tough budget environment" as lawmakers remain cool to the administration’s request for a third partisan-led defense-funding measure. “If they don’t figure it out, there is no Golden Dome,” Guetlein told attendees at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, “because there is no funding.”

Romanian Nuclearelectrica starts shutting down sole working nuclear reactor

Reuters | August 13, 2026

Romanian state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica has started the process of disconnecting its sole working ​reactor from the power grid due to record low ‌Danube river levels, it said on Thursday. The drought-hit river already forced it to shut down one reactor in late July. The company has two 706-megawatt ​reactors in Cernavoda on the Danube, accounting for a fifth ​of the country's power output.

Delaware nixes the possibility of near-term nuclear power

Maddy Lauria | Newark Post

A group of stakeholders have decided, after months of deliberation, that small modular nuclear reactors — recently touted as a possible solution to Delaware’s growing energy demands — are not a feasible option to meet the state’s immediate energy needs. … The group concluded that turning to small modular reactors — a largely unproven technology that relies on novel fuel types and compact, factory-built designs — is not a viable option in the short term.

Nuclear power push ramps up uranium mill — and tribal health concerns

Melissa Bailey | NPR

A federal law, passed in 2024, bans imports of Russian uranium by 2028, increasing pressure to develop domestic fuel supplies. President Trump set a goal to quadruple U.S. nuclear energy capacity by 2050. He issued orders to prioritize mining on federal lands and fast-track approval of mining projects. The Velvet-Wood uranium mine in Utah, for instance, zipped through federal environmental review in 11 days, to the dismay of local tribes who were given one week to offer input.

How the bomb failed to deliver security in Pakistan

Sadia Tasleem | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

In the aftermath of a short but limited three-day war with India in May 2025, Pakistan’s strategic elite had to face a hard truth: Nuclear weapons have limits. They do not prevent every crisis or escalation of military conflict, and they do not deter coercion. This is a reality that nuclear weapon states like the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom have also experienced but rarely acknowledged publicly.