Russia Holds Drills With Nuclear Subs, Land-Based Missiles
Vladimir Isachenkov | Associated Press
Russian nuclear submarines sailed off for drills in the Barents Sea and mobile missile launchers roamed snow forests Tuesday in Siberia after President Vladimir Putin ordered his nation’s nuclear forces put on high alert over tensions with the West over the invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s Northern Fleet said in a statement that several of its nuclear submarines were involved in exercises designed to “train maneuvering in stormy conditions.” It said several warships tasked with protecting northwest Russia’s Kola Peninsula, where several naval bases are located, would join the maneuvers.
U.S. Cancels Ballistic Missile Test to Avoid Escalating Russia Tensions
Zachary Basu | Axios
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made the decision to cancel a ballistic missile test scheduled for this week “to demonstrate we are a responsible nuclear power,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby announced Wednesday. Why it matters: Russian President Vladimir Putin has heightened the readiness posture of Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces during his invasion of Ukraine, after warning last week that any country that interfered in the operation would face “such consequences that you have never encountered in your history.”
No Changes Coming to US Nuclear Posture After Russian Threat
Joe Gould | Defense News
In the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent nuclear orders to his forces, the top military officer responsible for America’s nuclear arsenal said the U.S. has not made any moves of its own. “I am satisfied with the posture of my forces. I have made no recommendations to make any changes,” U.S. Strategic Command’s chief, Adm. Charles Richard, told a House Armed Services subpanel Tuesday. “All I’ll say in open session is ... nuclear command and control is in its most defended, most resilient lineup that it’s ever been in, in its history.”
IAEA Chief to Visit Iran in Possible Boost to Nuclear Deal
Parisa Hafezi and Francois Murphy | Reuters
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency will visit Tehran on Saturday, the agency confirmed on Thursday, raising the prospect of progress on one of the last thorny issues blocking a revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The visit by the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s director general was reported overnight by the Nournews news agency affiliated with Iran’s top security body as negotiators in Vienna seek to restore U.S. and Iranian compliance with the deal.
Iran, U.S. Close to Reviving Iranian Nuclear Deal
Laurence Norman | Wall Street Journal
The U.S. and Iran on Thursday were closing in on an agreement to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, although officials from both countries warned final issues still needed to be nailed down in the coming hours. After weeks of intense negotiations in Vienna involving the U.S. and Iran, and Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, senior diplomats said they were now within reach of an agreement that would restore the 2015 deal. That pact lifted most international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for strict but temporary restrictions on Iran’s nuclear work. “We are very close to an agreement,” chief British negotiator Stephanie Al-Qaq said on Twitter late Thursday. “Now we have to take a few final steps.”
Taiwan to More Than Double Annual Missile Production Capacity Amid China Tension
Yimou Lee | Reuters
Taiwan plans to more than double its yearly missile production capacity to close to 500 this year, the island’s defence ministry said in a report, as it boosts its combat power amid what it sees as China’s growing military threat. Taiwan last year approved extra military spending of T$240 billion ($8.6 billion) over the next five years as tensions with China, which claims the island as its own territory, have hit a new high and Chinese military planes have repeatedly flown through Taiwan’s air defence identification zone.