Russia Floats Out First Nuclear Sub that will Carry Poseidon Strategic Underwater Drones
TASS
The Project 09852 special-purpose nuclear-powered submarine Belgorod that will be the first carrier of Poseidon strategic underwater drones was floated out at the Sevmash Shipyard in north Russia on Tuesday, TASS reports from the scene. Russian President Vladimir Putin watched the submarine’s launch ceremony via a TV link-up. As Sevmash Head Mikhail Budnichenko said during the ceremony of floating out the submarine from the slipway, "the enterprise’s shipbuilders will fulfill all the tasks of building ships within the established timeframe and with high quality." After that, Ship Commander Captain First Rank Anton Alyokhin traditionally smashed a bottle of champagne against the ship’s board.
U.S. Moves to Stop All Nations From Buying Iranian Oil, but China Is Defiant
Edward Wong and Clifford Krauss | New York Times
In tightening sanctions on Iran, the Trump administration moved on Monday to isolate Tehran economically and undercut its power across the Middle East. But the clampdown has complicated relations with China at a particularly sensitive moment. The decision to stop five of Iran’s biggest customers from buying its oil was an audacious strike at Tehran’s lifeline — one million barrels of oil exports daily, fully half of which go to China. The order was also aimed at India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey, all countries that trade robustly with the United States. All are also partners with the United States on major security and diplomatic issues that do not involve Iran.
2020 Dems Rebuke Trump on Iran, Say They’d Put U.S. Back in Nuclear Deal
Rebecca Kheel | Hill
Most of the Democrats running for president are vowing to put the United States back in the Iran nuclear deal that President Trump withdrew from nearly a year ago. “Our intelligence community told us again and again: The #IranDeal was working to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. If Iran continues to abide by the terms of the deal, you bet I will support returning to it,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) recently tweeted. Warren, whose campaign pointed to the February tweet when contacted this month by The Hill, backed the Iran deal in a Senate vote like several of the other Democratic senators running for president.
Kim-Putin: North Korean and Russian Leaders to Meet for First Time
Andreas Illmer | BBC
North Korean state media has confirmed that leader Kim Jong-un will travel to Russia "soon" for his first ever meeting with Vladimir Putin. While no date has been announced, the Kremlin has also said the two will meet "in the second half of April". Speculation is growing that they’ll meet in Russia's eastern port of Vladivostok, just hours from their shared border, later this week. It comes soon after the collapse of the Trump-Kim talk in Hanoi. But both sides will be bringing very different agendas to the table.
Lok Sabha Elections: Modi’s Remarks on Nuclear Capability ‘Unfortunate,’ Says Pakistan
Hindustan Times
Pakistan on Monday took exception to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks about India’s nuclear capability, terming them “highly unfortunate” and said such nuclear brinksmanship should be discouraged. Pointing out that Modi referred to the night of February 27 and missile-related threat from India as “qatal ki raat (the night of murder)”, a foreign office (FO) statement said, “It clearly contradicts the position of Indian officials, who had tried to give an impression that there were no such plans of India and instead had blamed Pakistan for ‘whipping up war hysteria’.” It added, “Such nuclear brinksmanship needs to be discouraged.” Following the air strike at Balakot terror camp in Pakistan on February 26, there was a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani fighter planes on February 27 in which IAF wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by the neighbouring country and released on the night of March 1.
Iran Must be Stopped From Becoming Like N. Korea: U.S. Envoy
Lee Haye-ah | Yonhap News Agency
Iran must be stopped from acquiring the nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities demonstrated by North Korea, the U.S. envoy for Iran said Monday. U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook made the remark in an interview with Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV, shortly after Washington announced an end to waivers for imports of Iranian oil. That means South Korea, along with seven other economies that were granted temporary waivers in November, will face U.S. sanctions if they continue to import Iranian oil after May 1. It shows that the Donald Trump administration is "very serious" about nonproliferation and missile proliferation, according to Hook. "North Korea and Iran are two leading countries in that field," he said. The difference between them is that Iran has yet to acquire the level of sophistication North Korea has demonstrated in its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.